What are Housing Trust Funds?

History of Housing Trust Funds
Housing Trust Fund Model
List of Housing Trust Funds

Housing trust funds are distinct funds established by legislation, ordinance or resolution to receive dedicated public revenues, which can only be spent on housing.

The key characteristic of a housing trust fund is that it receives ongoing revenues from dedicated sources of public funding such as taxes, fees or loan repayments. Typically, legislation or an ordinance is passed that increases an existing revenue source, such as a real estate transfer tax, interest from government loans, developer fees, hotel/motel taxes and others. The increase is then committed to the housing trust fund.

Housing trust funds are designed locally so they take advantage of unique opportunities and address specific needs that exist within a particular community.

Housing trust funds provide a more secure and sensible way to fund needed housing. Safe, affordable housing is essential to the health of every community and deserves the kind of funding a housing trust fund can promise

History of Housing Trust Funds

Housing trust funds were created as early as the mid-1970s, but they did not really become a trend until the late 1980s and into the 1990s. When the Housing Trust Fund Project was created at the Center for Community Change in 1986, there were only a handful of funds in existence. Today, there are more than 350 housing trust funds in cities, counties and states (Regional housing trust funds exist as well).

Long before the notion of dedicating public money to the creation and preservation of affordable housing, precedents of dedicated funding existed in other areas. Interest on lawyer trust accounts (IOLTA) has been collected in states throughout the country to support legal services programs. States commonly earmark some tax collections for specific purposes, e.g. dedicating motor fuel taxes to highway and other transportation programs. Property tax revenues at the local level have long been used to support local school systems. Thus, it wasn’t much of a stretch for this concept to be applied to housing.

Two of the earliest sources for housing trust funds were real estate transfer taxes (paid at the time real estate is transferred) and linkage fees (paid by commercial or industrial developers to offset the impact of additional employees on the local housing supply). While they built upon concepts that were becoming commonplace within zoning approval processes, these first trust funds recognized that development had a direct impact on the housing supply.

One key factor has undoubtedly driven the rapid evolution of the housing trust fund idea across the country. This is the striking reduction in federal support for assisted housing. It couldn’t be more dramatic. Federal funding for low-income housing dropped from $71.2 billion in 1978 to $16.3 billion in 1997 (according to Housing at a Snail’s Pace: The Federal Housing Budget: 1978-1997, NLIHC, August 1996). Under the circumstances, it shouldn’t be any surprise at all that city, county and state governments have been searching for ways that they could make up for the dramatically increasing deficit in housing funding. While housing trust funds are a step in the right direction, they were never intended to make up for the gap in federal funding.

Today, the Center works with various communities around the nation in the effort to create housing trust funds. At any given time around the nation, there are approximately 30 campaigns underway to create housing trust funds.

The Housing Trust Fund Model

The model includes 4 key components:

1. Purpose of the fund.

   Housing trust funds are established to provide the financial resources needed to address the housing needs of low- and very low-income households. Some extend this mission to moderate-income; others focus on the needs of the homeless or other special groups. They clearly intend to serve unmet existing housing needs of their poorest residents.

2. Administration

   Most housing trust funds are administered by the agency or department that typically handles federal housing programs, such as HOME and CDBG. Staff will be assigned to run day-to-day operations of the housing trust fund. It is common for a Board to be established to oversee responsibilities for the fund. The Board is usually appointed and represents nonprofit developers, service providers, housing advocates, private industries, unions, low-income citizens, and others. It is not uncommon for the City Council or County Commissioners to have final say over the direction of the fund and the awards made, but the Boards bring both representation from the community as well as support from all segments involved in housing issues.

3. Programs

   Housing trust funds are designed locally so they take advantage of unique opportunities and address specific needs that exist within a community. Housing trust funds support virtually any housing activity that serves the targeted beneficiaries. They would typically fund new construction and rehabilitation, as well as community land trusts, mobile home parks, and first time homeowners. A few housing trust funds were created to benefit the homeless population in particular, and have designed their programs accordingly. Most housing trust funds contain various components to help achieve specific objectives. For example, they: may include programs to increase the capacity of nonprofit organizations so that they can better engage in housing development activities; often require that the units supported remain affordable to the intended beneficiaries for the longest possible period; and typically encourage leveraging of other public and private resources. Funds are usually made available as loans or grants through a competitive request for proposal process. Projects are typically ranked on a number of pre-established criteria.

4. Revenues

   Nearly forty different sources of revenue have been dedicated to existing housing trust funds. Most housing trust funds in existence have revenue from a tax or fee dedicated to the Fund.

   Total annual revenue collected by trust funds range from a high of $300+ million each year to less than $100,000 annually. Overall, housing trust funds commit some $750 million to housing projects each year through dedicated revenue streams, along with additional funds through appropriations and other special funds.

   The revenues most commonly committed to housing trust funds include: exactions required of developers, real estate transfer taxes, or document recording fees. New sources are constantly being secured including: unclaimed utility deposits, gaming revenues, interest from rainy day funds, and others.

List of Housing Trust Funds

There are more than 350 housing trust funds in the United States – from cities, counties, states, and even regional areas. Housing trust funds have grown substantially in the last 30 years. This list is up-to-date as of 2002.

City Housing Trust Funds
County Housing Trust Funds
Multi-jurisdictional Housing Trust Funds
State Housing Trust Funds

City Housing Trust Funds

Berkeley, California: Housing Trust Fund

Cupertino, California: Affordable Housing Fund

Los Angeles, California: Housing Trust Fund

Menlo Park, California: Below Market Rate Housing Reserve

Morgan Hill, California: Senior Housing Trust Fund

Palo Alto, California: The Housing Reserve

San Diego, California: Housing Trust Fund

San Francisco, California: Office of Affordable Housing, Production Program; Hotel Tax Fund; and Bond Housing Program

Santa Monica, California: Citywide Housing Trust Fund

West Hollywood, California: Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Aspen, Colorado: Housing Day Care Fund

Boulder, Colorado: Community Housing Assistance Program and Affordable Housing Fund

Denver, Colorado: Skyline Housing Fund

Longmont, Colorado: Affordable Housing Fund

Telluride, Colorado: Housing Trust Fund

Tallahassee, Florida: Housing Trust Fund

Chicago, Illinois: Low Income Housing Trust Fund

Bloomington, Indiana: Housing Trust Fund

Fort Wayne, Indiana: Central City Housing Trust Fund

Indianapolis, Indiana: Housing Trust Fund

Lawrence, Kansas: Housing Trust Fund

Massachusetts: 50+ communities through the Community Preservation Act

Boston, Massachusetts: Neighborhood Housing Trust

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Housing Trust Fund

Ann Arbor, Michigan: Housing Trust Fund

St. Paul, Minnesota: STAR Program

St. Louis, Missouri: Housing Trust Fund

New Jersey: 142 COAH approved developer fee programs

Santa Fe, New Mexico: Community Housing Trust

Greensboro, North Carolina: VM Nussbaum Housing Partnership Fund

Toledo, Ohio: Housing Fund

Portland, Oregon: Housing Investment Fund

Charleston, South Carolina: Housing Trust Fund

Knoxville, Tennessee: Housing Trust Fund

Nashville, Tennessee: Nashville Housing Fund, Inc.

Austin, Texas: Housing Trust Fund

San Antonio, Texas: Housing Trust

Salt Lake City, Utah: Housing Trust Fund

Burlington, Vermont: Housing Trust Fund

Alexandria, Virginia: Housing Trust Fund

Manassas, Virginia: Manassas Housing Trust Fund, Inc.

Bainbridge Island, Washington: Housing Trust Fund

Seattle, Washington: Housing Assistance Funds

Washington, D.C.: Housing Production Trust Fund

County Housing Trust Funds

Multi-jurisdictional Housing Trust Funds

ARCH, Eastside Housing Trust Funds: Includes King County and the cities of Bellevue, Bothell, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Woodinville, NewCastle, Beax Arts Village, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Medina, and Yarrow Point.

Columbus/Franklin County, Ohio Housing Trust Fund: Includes the City of Columbus and Franklin County.

Sacramento City and County, California Housing Trust Funds: Includes the City of Sacramento and Sacramento County.

State Housing Trust Funds

Arizona: Housing Trust Fund

California: Housing Trust Fund

Connecticut: Interest on Real Estate Brokers Trust Account

Delaware: Housing Development Fund

Florida: William E. Sadowski Act

Georgia: Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless

Hawaii: Rental Housing Trust Fund

Idaho: Housing Trust Fund

Illinois: Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Indiana: Low Income Housing Trust Fund

Kansas: Housing Trust Fund

Kentucky: Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Kentucky: Single Family Trust Fund

Maine: Housing Opportunities for Maine (HOME)

Maryland: Affordable Housing Trust

Massachusetts: Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Minnesota: Housing Trust Fund

Missouri: Housing Trust Fund

Montana: Revolving Loan Account for Housing

Nebraska: Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Nebraska: Homeless Assistance Trust Fund

Nevada: Account for Low Income Housing Trust Fund

Nevada: Assistance for Low-Income Owners of Mobile Homes

New Hampshire: Affordable Housing Fund

New Jersey: Balanced Housing Program

North Carolina: Housing Trust Fund

Ohio: Housing Trust Fund

Oklahoma: Housing Trust Fund

Oregon: Housing Development Grant Program

Oregon: Low Income Rental Housing Fund

Rhode Island: Housing and Conservation Trust

South Carolina: Housing Trust Fund

Texas: Housing Trust Fund

Utah: Olene Walker Housing Trust Fund

Vermont: Housing & Conservation Trust

Washington: Housing Trust Fund

West Virginia: Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Wisconsin: Interest Bearing Real Estate Trust Account

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