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Austin housing committee asks staff to review expiring LIHTC properties and bring program outcomes back to the committee
Summary
Chair Madison asked housing staff to brief the committee on Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties nearing affordability expirations and to share a district-by-district spreadsheet; members also asked for regular reporting on site-plan-light and home initiative outcomes. No policy vote was taken on LIHTC interventions.
Madison, council member for District 1 and chair of the Austin Housing and Planning Committee, used the Jan. 27 special meeting to flag a review of Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties whose affordability restrictions are nearing expiration and to request follow-up from housing staff.
"As those apartment complexes and their contracts come to a close, the complex has the opportunity ... to convert those units from income restricted to market rate," Madison said, explaining why the committee needs better visibility into upcoming expirations. She told members staff had produced a spreadsheet cataloging properties by council district and affordability-expiration year and offered to circulate it to colleagues.
Madison said the spreadsheet shows at least two properties with expirations in 2024, another in 2025, and several expiring in 2026, and she suggested that expirations should trigger an internal review and assessment of options to preserve affordability where possible. She framed potential municipal roles narrowly: exploring whether the city could broker moves, connect affected tenants with other affordable units, or otherwise add tools to reduce displacement risk — while acknowledging the city does not directly manage private real estate conversions.
A committee member asked for periodic reporting on the "site plan light" and "home" initiatives so the committee can track whether those programs are meeting targets. "I would love to see those, come back to us at some point," the committee member said, requesting either annual or semiannual updates and Gantt-chart status reports. The member also raised outstanding technical questions about utility review, setbacks and metering related to site-plan-light implementation.
Chair Madison agreed to ask the committee liaison to have housing staff circulate the LIHTC spreadsheet and to coordinate departmental representatives to provide data-driven updates on permitting and program outcomes. No motion or vote was taken on LIHTC interventions at this meeting; committee members directed staff to report back with information to inform future options.
