Victory sponsors affordable housing bills

Victory sponsors affordable housing bills

LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Roger Victory on Thursday introduced legislation to help address the shortage of affordable housing in West Michigan.

“We see stories every day about how high the costs of homes have gotten, and it has made the dream of owning a home unattainable for many Michigan residents,” said Victory, R-Hudsonville. “In West Michigan, wages have increased by nearly 6% since 2015, but the average price of a home has increased by 60% over that same time. This has created significant issues for many of our hardworking families and also for local employers trying to attract talent.

“This bipartisan package is an effort to enlist businesses in addressing this problem, help us double our investment in affordable housing and ensure it goes where it’s needed most.”

Under Senate Bills 360 and 361, businesses would be able to receive a 50% income tax credit for any investment in a qualified affordable housing project as approved by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, which would determine eligibility for the credits.

Qualified projects would need to support individuals under 120% of the area median income and include investment in a local impact housing trust fund, down payment assistance, reduced-interest mortgages, mortgage guarantee programs, rental subsidies, individual development account savings plans or other similar projects approved by MSHDA.

Victory’s measures are two of five bills in the package already introduced, with at least four more bills expected to be introduced later. SBs 362-364 would address certain residential rehabilitation projects, create advisory committees for certain building codes and expand incentives for use of neighborhood enterprise zones.

SBs 360-364 have been referred to the Senate Economic and Small Business Development Committee for consideration.

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