HUD Releases LIHTC Tenant Data Report

For the first time, the HUD Office of Policy Development and Research has made available data on the characteristics of tenants living in properties funded through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program in a recently released report entitled, “Understanding Whom the LIHTC Program Serves: Tenants in LIHTC Units as of December 31, 2012.”

In it, HUD examines several years of demographic and economic data on LIHTC tenants provided by state housing finance agencies through an annual data collection process mandated by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This data ranges from information about LIHTC tenants related to race, ethnicity, family composition, age, income, use of rental assistance, disability status, and monthly rental payments of households residing in LIHTC properties.

HUD recognizes that some of the data collected is incomplete and reporting varied across states. Not all LIHTC properties were included in the report and some of the ones that were included had incomplete data. In addition, of the 60 state agencies, two agencies from the District of Columbia and New Mexico did not provide tenant data at all.

Here are some of the findings from the report:

• Approximately three-fourths of reported households include disability status for at least one household member. The reporting of disability status, however, varied across states.
• 36.4 percent of reported LIHTC households had a least one member under 18 years old. Most states have between 25 and 50 percent of households with at least one member under 18 years old.
• Nearly 33 percent of reported LIHTC households have an elderly member, and 28.6 percent of reported LIHTC households have a head of household at least 62 years old.
• The overall median annual income of households living in LIHTC units was $17,066, ranging from $8,769 in Kentucky to $22,241 in Florida. By comparison, the median income of HUD-assisted tenants was $10,272 in 2012.
• Approximately 60 percent of reported households nationwide had incomes below $20,000.
• The study found that approximately 39 percent of all LIHTC households paid more than 30 percent of their income for rent, thus making them housing cost burdened. Ten percent of all LIHTC households faced a severe housing cost burden, paying more than 50 percent of their income towards rent.
• In 23 states, HUD was able to collect some data on the use of rental assistance in LIHTC units, which can eliminate cost burden for households who have it. Approximately half of reported households receive some form of rental assistance, with the greatest use in Vermont (64 percent) and least use in Nevada (23 percent).