A Survey and Assessment of Housing Trust Funds in the United States

Abstract

Abstract Housing trust funds in the United States are a state and local response to declining federal support for affordable housing. This article surveys some sample housing trust funds in terms of their basic characteristics, their effectiveness as replacements for federal housing programs, and their replicability. The article concludes that while housing trust funds have the potential to replace federal spending in some jurisdictions, their replication is limited by their dependence on real estate taxes and fees. Moreover, housing trust funds frequently produce small levels of revenue and even at their best fail to come close to equaling the federal level of support for housing prior to the Reagan-Bush budget cuts. Moreover, housing trust funds are less likely than many federal programs to benefit the lowest income households or to provide long-term afford-ability.