Giving Compass' Take:

• Nonprofit Quarterly reports on how half a million living units eligible for a low-income housing credit may lose their subsidy in the next decade, which could exacerbate a growing affordable housing crisis.

• How can nonprofits and funders make sure that such units are preserved, rather than go downhill due to a lack of government money? Are there other more sustainable solutions to cheaper housing?

• Here's how community organizations are making an investment in affordable housing in Washington, D.C.

According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a total of 3.05 million units of affordable housing were built between 1987 and 2016 through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Of course, more was needed. As reported in NPQ, between 2000 and 2015, one group estimates that the shortfall totaled 7.3 million housing units.

But the situation could, alas, get even worse, as close to 500,000 of the 3 million LIHTC units are slated to lose their federal affordable housing subsidy in the next decade, according to a report titled Balancing Priorities, which was released earlier this month by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC). The reason? It so happens that LIHTC subsidies typically expire after 30 years. And, since the program began in 1987, 31 years ago, phase-outs are starting to occur. HUD notes that “An average of over 1,435 projects and 108,810 units were placed in service annually between 1995 to 2016.” But in 2029 alone, 95,000 units will lose their subsidy. In short, net affordable housing through LIHTC could drop toward zero.

As Jared Brey in Next City explains, “Some units in highly desirable neighborhoods could quickly be converted to market-rate rents, while many more units in neighborhoods with lower demand could start to physically deteriorate without additional capital for rehabilitation.”

Read the full article about housing subsidies by Steve Dubb at nonprofitquarterly.org.