Bill > SR71

This Resolution urges the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) to take action against profit-driven investors and aggregators who are harming the state's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program. The LIHTC Program is designed to fund the creation and renovation of affordable housing by allowing developers to sell tax credits to investors, who then receive tax benefits for a fifteen-year period. Typically, after this period, nonprofit developers have a "right of first refusal" to buy the property at a low cost to ensure it remains permanently affordable. However, the Resolution highlights that some investors and "aggregators" (entities that buy ownership stakes from original investors) are manipulating the program by blocking this right of first refusal, often through lengthy legal battles, to sell the properties at market rate for greater profit. This undermines the program's original intent of creating and preserving affordable housing, especially given Hawaii's significant housing shortage. To combat these predatory practices, the HHFDC is urged to amend its Qualified Application Plan and LIHTC regulatory agreements to better protect nonprofit developers' rights to purchase these properties and prevent tactics that obstruct these transfers. Additionally, Hawaii's congressional delegation is asked to pursue federal legislation to strengthen these rights and address corporations profiting from affordable housing developed with public resources.