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Bill would give Washington housing agency new enforcement tools after audit finds broken 'rent-to-own' promises
Summary
HB 2527 would require developers using federal low-income housing tax credits to support eventual tenant ownership (ETO) plans, expand Housing Finance Commission enforcement (including possible debarment), and mandate public reporting; advocates say the bill addresses audit findings that more than 500 tenant-buyers were not placed on a path to homeownership, while the Housing Finance Commission urges collaborative fixes to avoid unintended harm to tribal housing programs.
A Washington bill that would strengthen enforcement of 'eventual tenant ownership' commitments under federal low-income housing tax credits was heard Jan. 26 by the House Housing Committee.
Representative Jesse Pollet, prime sponsor of HB 2527, told the committee the measure responds to an audit and community reports showing tenants in tax-credit projects were promised the opportunity to buy their homes after 15 years but frequently never received deeds or keys. "We estimate, well over — the records show, over 450 families," Pollet said, adding the state auditor’s work and subsequent testimony point to systemic monitoring failures.
Audits cited by testifiers put the figure even higher. Gabe Galanda, an indigenous rights lawyer and housing advocate, testified that the state auditor’s performance audit found "over 500 families" who were promised homeownership through the LIHTC program had not received deeds or keys and that as of the audit date "not a single homeowner was on a trajectory…
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