Millions of families live in asset poverty, lacking the financial resources to cover three months of basic living expenses without income. Financial assets not only help people weather times of financial distress, but allow them to invest in their futures, including homeownership, education, and entrepreneurship. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit’s (LIHTC) scale presents a significant but underutilized opportunity to create new asset building opportunities. Residents contribute consistently to property performance through rent payments and stewardship, yet housing often remains disconnected from wealth creation. Growing recognition that resident financial stability benefits both households and properties, combined with emerging technology and policy flexibility, creates a timely opportunity to integrate asset building into LIHTC at scale.
Building Financial Assets for Residents in LIHTC Communities, released by the Asset Builders Alliance, a collaboration between Compass Working Capital, Housing Partnership Network (HPN), National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA), and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), outlines scalable asset-building models for LIHTC properties, particularly for residents excluded from existing programs such as Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS).
The paper presents six modeled pathways for residents in LIHTC properties to accumulate $2,000–$6,000 in savings over five years using existing tools and infrastructure. Based on interviews with Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs), owners, developers, and service providers, the analysis demonstrates practical pathways HFAs and owners, policymakers, and funders can take to advance residents’ economic mobility, while strengthening housing stability.