Chair Sanchez questions on CHAP exclusions, voucher programs, and homeownership goals
Sanchez asks about CHAP excluding buildings with regulatory agreements and how to supplement support for those affordable properties. Levy discusses getting out of federal voucher shortfall and using tools program interventions. On homeownership, Levy projects 300 Open Door units, 150 Our Home conversions, and 300 Home First down payment assistance awards for FY27.
I did forget to ask one question with respect to the challenges within the affordable, this is with respect to vouchers.
In terms of the high rate of evictions that we're seeing in affordable housing properties,
not to go too deeply into negotiations on the new CHAP program, but one of the exclusions in the CHAP program is around buildings that have a regulatory agreement that apply to it.
So can you speak to other ways that we will supplement our ability, the city's ability to help these buildings?
Yeah, I think one is getting out of shortfall, right, in which that frees up our own subsidy through project-based vouchers and housing choice vouchers.
And so all of the federal voucher programs, I think we are working all the time now to figure out how to quickly get out of shortfall so that we can allocate federal vouchers, which can be used in HPD subsidized projects.
Beyond that, I think we've covered it pretty much at length, but there are interventions like tools where we're hoping to see other ways to get upstream.
to deal with rent collection issues, making cash flow healthier through access to reserves and more flexibility with reserves, full expansion of the 420, right, so everything we've covered.
I think there are other tools besides just operating subsidy that HPD can bring to bear to stabilize our existing affordable housing partners.
Thank you.
With respect to the homeownership goal in the plan, an increase to 85% or an 85% increase in the amount of homeownership production.
We think this is related to the council's local law 57 of 2026 sponsored by former speaker Adrian Adams, which set a new 4% floor for HPD's production of new construction homeownership units.
How does the agency intend to meet the goal in FY27?
What share of this goal does the administration expect to be down payment assistance?
Sure.
So I can just give numbers specifically for the production targets for 2027.
So the first is Open Door, which is our new construction program.
They were projecting 300 new units in fiscal year 2027.
The second one I would point to is the Our Home, which will be a conversion from rental to homeownership.
There I think we hope to do about 150 units next year.
And then under the, sorry, I lost, home first, right, the down payment assistance, there we would also go from about 175 units.
You're up to about 300 units next year.
Okay.
Acknowledging that we've been joined by Councilmember Hanif.