OHFA 2023 First Quarter Agency at a Glance

OHFA UPDATE - PAGE 2 - 2023 FIRST QUARTER GOVERNOR DEWINE'S BUDGET PROPOSAL INCLUDES NEW HOUSING INITIATIVES PENNY MARTIN DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS In late February, Governor Mike DeWine presented his Executive Budget to the Ohio General Assembly. Included in the FY 2024-2025 budget proposal were four initiatives to help prepare Ohioans for homeownership and to help create more housing stock. Here's an overview of each initiative: LANDLORD CREDIT SCORE COST ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Capturing on-time rental payments will help Ohioans build and/or improve their credit scores. If included in the final version of the FY24-25 state budget, the Landlord Credit Score Cost Assistance Program will provide the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) with $1.5 million in funding each fiscal year to establish a pilot program to offset a landlord’s costs for reporting positive rent payments to third-party credit-monitoring services for residents in OHFA-funded rental properties. HOMEOWNERSHIP SAVINGS ACCOUNTS The first step to homeownership is saving for a down payment, which takes dedication and financial discipline. While OHFA can help first- time homebuyers through its down payment assistance program, the Executive Budget outlines a new tool for Ohioans, the Ohio Home Ownership Savings Account. This partnership between the Department of Taxation and the Treasurer of State would provide tax benefits to Ohioans saving for a down payment on their primary home. This is another tool to help first-time homebuyers, whether they are a family that is currently renting a home or a college student that has just graduated and is starting their first job. For Ohioans that currently own a home, the program will allow them to save for future home repairs, which will help maintain the quality of a community’s housing stock. This will be a resource to help all Ohioans achieve and maintain their dream of homeownership. SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT TAX CREDIT To address shortages in the single-family housing market, the Executive Budget proposes a Single-Family Housing Development Tax Credit. Based on the proposed federal Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, this tax credit program would provide OHFA $50 million per year for four years — $200 million program total — in tax credits to support the development of newly constructed single-family housing for Ohioans. Established as a public-private partnership, local governments will work with a project development team (a group of entities that will develop, construct, and finance the projects) to identify locations for and scopes of projects. The available amount of the tax credits, which can be claimed over a 10-year period, will be the difference between the qualified cost of construction and the evaluated market rate price of the homes. This program will create homeownership opportunities for residents at or below 120% of the area median income. STATE LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT Modeled after the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit will provide OHFA with $100 million a year in tax credits for the next four years to support the development or rehabilitation of low-income multifamily rental housing in Ohio. Administered in partnership with the Ohio Department of Taxation, OHFA will utilize the criteria outlined in the Qualified Allocation Plan to evaluate and award the State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Developers would apply to OHFA for an allocation of tax credits, which may be claimed over a 10-year period. Currently, there are 20 states with State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, including Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York. Adding this resource would increase our competitiveness in housing investments. It also will allow us to produce rental housing that would not otherwise have been created. The Ohio House of Representatives has proposed a similar initiative, HB3 , which would create a State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and provide $500 million a year for six years. The Ohio General Assembly continues to hold hearings on the Governor ’s Executive Budget and HB3, which can be viewed on the Ohio Channel . OHFA's Executive Director Shawn Smith speaks at the budget testimony on February 28, 2023.