The QAP As Policy Lever

Safe and affordable housing is an essential component of building sustainable, vital communities. While market‐based approaches often meet these needs for middle‐ and upper‐income households, the State is often left to employ policies and incentives to ensure the availability of safe and affordable housing for low‐ and moderate‐income families. One vehicle at the State’s disposal is the Low‐income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. State policies direct not only the awarding of these credits, but, as this paper suggests, the resulting location of many housing opportunities for low‐income residents. The Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) has undergone changes in recent years that have had a significant impact on the LIHTC landscape. This paper presents a brief analysis of these changes, particularly as they relate to siting considerations for LIHTC developments, and the resulting changes in distribution of applications for LIHTC credits in the Texas Department of Housing and Urban Development (TDHCA) Region 3 – the Dallas‐Fort Worth‐Arlington metropolitan area.