Last week, the Dallas Federal District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenged the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ (TDHCA) allocation of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) in the Dallas metropolitan area. The court found that the plaintiff proved its claim under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) that the agency’s allocation decisions have a disparate — albeit unintended — racial impact. Specifically, the plaintiff, Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. alleged that TDHCA isolated LIHTC developments in areas of minority concentration.
TDHCA has 60 days to submit a remedial plan to address the FHA violations, including revisions of its LIHTC Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). There is a possibility that the ruling and the agency’s remedial actions could affect the release of TDHCA’s 2012 LIHTC allocations.
Click here to view the court’s ruling.
