The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) has announced that the fiscal year 2021/2022 state budget will include funding for the development of affordable rental housing in three main program areas: 

  • $50 Million for the Construction Cost Relief Program (CCRP) from the Commonwealth’s receipt of federal American Rescue Plan funds. Eligible projects must have received (or will receive) a conditional allocation of LIHTCs during the 2019, 2020 or 2021 application cycles. 
  • Authorization of $10 Million annually in state tax credits to assist with the financing of multifamily housing projects awarded credits through the new PA Housing Tax Credit Program, established with passage of Act 107 of 2020. 
  • Increase in the annual state tax credit allocation to the existing Mixed-Use Development Tax Credit Program from $3 million to $4.5 million. 

At present, PHFA advises the development community that staff is currently working to understand the rules and requirements of all the funding sources, draft programmatic guidelines and work on deployment of these resources. PHFA anticipates releasing more information and updates with additional details.