Michael Joe Murphy

Conversation Starter

The supply of affordable housing tightens, even as many residents in Central Florida struggle to pay the rent or their mortgage, even as regional leaders grapple for solutions. Urgency builds daily with new arrivals from Puerto Rico who flee Hurricane Maria’s destruction of the island.

Elected officials and civic activists from Orange, Seminole and Osceola are focused on the need for more affordable housing, yet tax legislation in the nation’s capital could undermine their quest.

In the avalanche of news from Congress about taxes, the “fine print” escapes much notice. Yet “the devil in the details” could curtail rental homes built or renovated by taking advantage of the low-income housing tax credit.

Though they are far from being thrashed out, these tax details in Congress about affordable housing could have an outsized impact on Central Florida.

The U.S. House of Representatives would eliminate privateactivity bonds; critics say that would lead to a steep drop in affordable-housing units. The Senate bill would preserve the use of private activity bonds. Yet even then, provisions in the Senate bill would still appreciably crimp tax incentives for affordable rental projects.

Should Congress eliminate these private activity bonds? What’s ahead for affordable housing?

For explanations and nuances, we turn to two specialists:

Mark Hendrickson, the executive director of the Florida Association of Local Housing Finance Authorities.

Vanessa Brown Calder, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute who focuses on social welfare, housing and urban policy.