Maryland Celebrates the 100th Affordable Housing Community Financed by Rental Housing Works Program
Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition Recognized with Governor’s Proclamation
NEW CARROLLTON, Md. (October 19, 2021) – Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Kenneth C. Holt joined leadership and members of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition at their annual meeting to celebrate the 100th affordable housing community financed through the State of Maryland’s Rental Housing Works program. Secretary Holt presented the coalition with a proclamation from Governor Larry Hogan marking the milestone.
“The Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition was instrumental in the creation of the Rental Housing Works program and has been a dedicated, professional partner in advancing the mission of the department to create and preserve affordable rental housing,” said Secretary Holt. “The support and advocacy of their members has helped contribute to unprecedented levels of financing and production during the Hogan-Rutherford administration.”
The coalition worked with the department to create the Rental Housing Works program in 2012. The program allows developers to make maximum use of previously unused, and often returned, federal bond resources for affordable rental housing. Designed to provide immediate support to shovel-ready projects, Rental Housing Works funds are deployed as low-interest loans that are paired with the federal bond funds to finance the preservation and modernization of affordable rental housing. The development of the 100 affordable housing communities financed through Rental Housing Works has leveraged more than $2 billion in additional public, private, and nonprofit investment.
Through Rental Housing Works and other rental financing programs, affordable housing production in Maryland has significantly increased to historic levels since 2015. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has financed the creation and preservation of more than 22,000 units during the current administration. Additionally, the department achieved two consecutive years of record-breaking application volume in competitive rounds for state rental housing funds and low income housing tax credits.
The Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition is composed of nearly 200 businesses and organizations that work in the affordable rental housing industry in Maryland. Members include developers, contractors, lenders, investors, architects, engineers and property managers, as well as local governments, housing authorities, and community organizations. The coalition’s advocacy efforts have helped ensure continued budgetary support from Governor Hogan and the Maryland General Assembly for Rental Housing Works since its creation, including record-level funding in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget.
For more information about Rental Housing Works and the State of Maryland’s other rental housing finance programs, visit https://dhcd.maryland.gov.
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