The Trump administration has taken a drastic step, halting a $1 billion program designed to preserve affordable housing across the U.S. This move threatens tens of thousands of housing units that provide shelter for low-income Americans, as reported by The Associated Press.
The halt is part of a broader series of cuts and freezes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), driven by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). These cuts have sent shockwaves through the affordable housing sector.
The program, which was passed by Congress in 2022, was essential for funding upgrades to aging housing units. These upgrades included crucial energy-efficiency improvements like replacing heating systems, fixing leaky roofs, and undertaking floodproofing. The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program not only focused on repairs but also required that the units remain affordable for up to 25 years.
Projects funded by the program were vital in preserving low-income housing and attracting further investments for major renovations. According to experts, these federal funds acted as the foundation for additional private investments that were necessary to keep older, low-rent apartments livable for the long term.
For Mike Essian, Vice President at American Community Developers, Inc., these funds were critical to ensuring that affordable housing projects were successful: “Projects will fail and these are projects that are already difficult to finance.”
Impact on Low-Income Renters and Communities
The news has had a devastating impact on tenants in low-income housing. Al Hase and Joan Starr, residents of Smith Tower Apartments in Vancouver, Washington, learned that the $10 million grant they relied on for building upgrades was at risk. The Smith Tower, built in the 1960s, urgently needs upgrades such as its first building-wide sprinkler system. Without the grant, the $100 million project will be difficult to finance, and the building’s future is in jeopardy.
Many of the 170 low-income seniors at Smith Tower depend on affordable housing, with most living on less than $33,000 a year. As Hase expressed, “It’s the difference between living and not being able to live.”
Michelle Arevalos, administrator of Smith Tower, emphasized the crucial role these affordable housing projects play: “In all honesty, if this building were not here, a lot of our folks actually probably would be homeless.”
HUD’s lack of communication about the program’s future has left affordable housing projects across the country in limbo. Though some projects are still receiving funding, others, including Smith Tower, face uncertainty.
Travis Phillips of the Housing Development Center explained, “If these funds aren’t reinstated, we will certainly seek other funding to fill that gap. The reality is that will take time and will inevitably make the project more expensive.” This sentiment is echoed by hundreds of affordable housing projects across 42 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico that are now in a similar situation.
Author’s Opinion
The decision to halt this program is not just a policy failure—it’s a human one. Low-income Americans already struggle with rising housing costs, and dismantling these critical funding programs will only worsen the situation. By choosing to stop these funding efforts, the Trump administration risks leaving thousands of people vulnerable to unsafe living conditions or homelessness. The importance of affordable housing in America cannot be overstated, and it’s disheartening to see essential services being pulled away.
Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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