Building Opportunity: Civil Rights Best Practices in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (50-state survey, PRRAC and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 2008)

An Updated Fifty-State Review of LIHTC “Qualified Allocation Plans”

• Building Opportunity: 2008 report
• Appendix: Profiles of each state’s plan
• Appendix: State-by-state comparison charts
• Annotated LIHTC Bibliography 

Excerpt: “The “best practices” highlighted in this report are meant as a starting point for a discussion about how to move the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program towards improved compliance with the Fair Housing Act. Of course, state Housing Finance Agencies will ultimately be judged not on what their plans say on paper, but on how well their programs do in promoting integrated housing choices in a variety of communities – especially communities with safe streets, high quality schools, and ample employment opportunities – and to ensure that this housing is truly open and accessible to low income families of color and persons with disabilities. To achieve this, we believe that state HFAs will need to play a more assertive role in demanding fair housing performance within the development and housing management communities, especially on issues of siting and tenant selection. The Department of Treasury, which oversees the program, will also be called upon to play a stronger role. It is our hope that the examples described in this report will help move us towards these goals.”