Facing cuts, 5,000 applicants seek help from Prince William affordable housing fund

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — Affordable housing’s future in Prince William County unclear amidst predicted federal funding cuts.

Federal subsidies for affordable housing are predicted to decline in the coming years. In Prince William County’s 2020 budget proposal, the county’s affordable housing needs are spelled out, but it remains unclear how demand will be met amidst rapid growth and change in the area.

“As federal lawmakers continue to find solutions to balance the federal budget, all indications are that funding for affordable housing will decline or at best remain level,” the Prince William County 2020 budget proposal noted.

“The largest impact from decreased funding levels is anticipated with the HCVP [Housing Choice Voucher Program] that provides rental assistance for low-income families, many of whom are elderly and/or disabled,” the proposal continued.

The HCVP is the primary means by which the county helps families in need of rental assistance or trying to afford first homes. It contains a Rental Assistance Unit and is overseen by the county’s Office of Housing and Community Development.

Currently, the HCVP receives roughly $35 million from federal funds. Additionally, the county’s general fund transfers $11,414 each year into the HCVP.

But President Trump and his administration have proposed drastic cuts to housing benefits in the 2020 fiscal year budget request, slashing funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by $9.8 billion, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The cuts are concerning because the majority of Prince William County’s housing support comes from HUD. “Further funding cuts would be detrimental to local affordable housing opportunities,” the county’s 2020 proposal noted.

The vast majority of the county’s housing funds are put toward rental assistance. In 2018 $28.7 million was spent on rental assistance and in the 2020 proposed budget, $36.7 million is proposed.

A total of $94,602 is designated for affordable housing support.

Families enrolled in the HCVP typically pay 30% of their income towards rent and utilities, with the difference covered by the program. However, and rents in the county and surrounding areas continue to rise. “Increased rents increase program costs, thereby reducing the number of people served,” the 2020 proposal noted.

There are approximately 1,500 families currently being served by the HCVP, and 5,012 applicants on the waiting list, according to the 2020 proposal. But that waiting list has been closed since 2010. The goal is to have the waiting list decreased to under 2,000 families by 2020, a decade after the waiting list was closed from further applicants.

“The availability of housing affordable to households all along the income spectrum is critical to supporting sustainable, long-term local and regional economic growth,” Bill Lake, director of the county’s Office of Housing and Community Development, told Potomac Local.

“In high-cost urban areas,” such as much of Northern Virginia, “additional federal subsidies provided through state and local governments in the form of grants or deferred loans in combination with Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity are necessary to cover development costs in order to provide rents affordable to low-income individuals and families,” Lake said.

These types of federal subsidies have “declined precipitously” in recent years and are “under threat of elimination altogether,” he said.

Non-profit organizations are doing their share to help, but organization leaders agree that the demand is simply too high to keep up with.

Complicating the issue is a 2016 Virginia proffer law, which altered the county’s ability to ask housing developers for conditional zonings, or proffers. This stymied housing developments within the county, including affordable ones. As of 2018, no new home developments had been approved by county leaders.

Lake confirmed that funds from proffers had decreased since the new legislation was adopted.