What can we learn about the Low-Income Tax Credit Program by Looking at the Tenants

While less well known to the average American than other federal affordable housing programs such as public housing, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) is the largest federal program for the production and preservation of affordable housing. Over the past 25 years it has financed the new construction or rehabilitation of more than 2.2 million affordable units, which represents more than enough units to house the population of Colorado. It also, in 2010, accounted for half of all multifamily housing production. Despite its importance, policymakers know little about the tenants the LIHTC program serves, or about the program’s effects on individuals and communities.