Panel Urges Reform of Affordable-Housing Policies

Deploring the lack of affordable housing nationwide, a commission appointed by Congress to examine the issue recommended Thursday an overhaul of federal policies to provide more units for low- and moderate-income people.

The report, which broadly examined housing for the first time in decades, faulted federal policies for creating too little housing for lower-income households.

In finding that nearly one out of four households spends more than 30% of its income on housing, the report described affordability as “the single greatest housing challenge facing the nation.” The other urgent priority, the report said, is raising the homeownership rate among minorities.

The Millennial Housing Commission, with almost two dozen bipartisan members appointed by Congress 17 months ago, did not suggest funding levels or numerical goals for housing. The report does list 13 proposals to reform or streamline existing affordable-housing programs and add some new ones. Among them:

* Provide sellers of deteriorating properties with tax relief, easing transfers to organizations that could turn the units into affordable housing.

* Restructure the Federal Housing Administration, allowing it to adapt to marketplace changes without approval from Congress.

* Require able-bodied adults who receive housing assistance to work, allowing them to increase their income so they can move out of subsidized units and free up housing for other families.

Real estate industry groups generally applauded the commission’s efforts, though most of them stopped short of endorsing specific recommendations.

One supporter was Will Cooper, president of WNC & Associates Inc. in Costa Mesa, a real estate investment and management company. “They focused on improving the programs in place, not just making new ones,” Cooper said, “which I think is critical.”