Federal tax credits that build new units may be eliminated

SACRAMENTO — California Democratic leaders urged Congress on Friday not to eliminate programs that helped finance roughly two-thirds of the state’s recent affordable housing supply in recent years.

“We cannot overstate the vital role these programs play in building and preserving affordable housing throughout the nation, but especially in California as we struggle with a housing crisis that is quickly metastasizing into a humanitarian and public health catastrophe,” State Treasurer John Chiang wrote in a letter sent to Republican U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other members.

California lacks an estimated 1.5 million affordable rental units. The Legislature this year passed a package of bills aimed at tackling the rising costs and crunched housing supply, including measures to cut regulations that stifle building and provide more money for construction. – See more.