Dayton housing officials say the government shutdown has stalled critical affordable housing development in the city.
Among the federal agencies closed by the shutdown is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the agency that distributes funds for states' low-income housing programs, including the rental voucher program commonly known as Section 8.
“We are feeling the effects because we are just kind of in limbo. Some of our deals, they're held up, we can't close them because we're waiting for HUD staff to return to work. And so we're concerned about how that would affect our future ability to attract equity investors and new affordable housing projects,” says Greater Dayton Premier Management Vice President of Strategic Development Kiya Patrick.
Patrick says HUD program funding currently runs through February, and tenants in Dayton's 2,700 public housing, or low-income voucher, units are not yet being affected because landlords are still being paid.
But if the shutdown continues into March, Patrick says, it could affect financing for new housing developments. The agency currently has more than 100 units of new affordable housing moving through the approval process.