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Ohio Housing Finance Agency seeks larger appropriation, reports oversubscription for state low-income housing tax credits
Summary
Ohio Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Bill Beagle asked the Senate committee for increased appropriation authority for FY26–27 to support staffing and program administration, described the state low-income housing tax credit rollout and project awards, and reported increased multifamily applications and inspections activity.
Bill Beagle, executive director of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, told the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee that demand for affordable-housing financing has risen and that the agency is seeking larger appropriation authority to hire staff and administer expanding programs.
Beagle described the agency’s FY26–27 operating request as $19,759,058 for fiscal 2026 and $20,484,830 for fiscal 2027, which he said are higher than the House-passed figures and represent “the minimal amount of funding needed to efficiently and effectively achieve the agency’s missions and goals for the next biennium.” He said the agency’s operations are funded entirely by user fees, administrative reimbursements and federal program support and use no general revenue funds for operations.
On the newly established state low-income housing tax credit program, Beagle said the program was funded with $100,000,000 in state tax credits per year and that in the first round the agency received 22 applications totaling more than $190,000,000 in requests; OFA (Ohio Housing Finance Agency) reserved $87,500,000 of credits in that round to create an estimated 855 affordable rental apartments. For fiscal 2025 (year two of the program) the agency used the full $100,000,000 plus $12,500,000 carried from the prior year; projects selected for awards will create an estimated 1,022 new affordable apartments statewide, including four rural developments that used additional trust-fund dollars to be financially feasible.
Beagle also said the agency conducted 402 physical inspections of developments in fiscal 2024 and emphasized oversight and accountability for property owners and managers who accept public financing.
The agency’s request reflects increased applications for both multifamily and homebuyer-assistance programs; Beagle requested more appropriation authority to hire staff to reduce reliance on temporary employees and to maintain service levels. He asked committee members for support as the budget process continues.
No committee votes were recorded on the OFA testimony during this hearing.
