JPMorgan Chase launches programs to expand and preserve affordable housing
May 25, 2021
JPMorgan Chase announced initiatives to expand the preservation of affordable housing and rental housing options across the U.S., as part of the firm’s recently announced $30 billion commitment to advance racial equity. To help maintain affordability for tenants, the Commercial Term Lending group is offering multifamily owners and operators with an industry-leading Affordable Housing Preservation Program, providing an economic incentive, as well as extending rent and income-restricted subsidy mortgage lending programs to this client base.
The lack of affordable housing options disproportionally affects communities of color and low-income renters. According to a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, more than half of Black and Latinx renter households were moderately or severely cost-burdened in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact have widened these disparities further. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, extremely low-income renters, defined as households with incomes at or below poverty guidelines or 30 percent of area median income, face a shortage of 7 million affordable and available rental homes in the U.S., which has remained essentially unchanged over the last five years.