Polk County could lose more than 600 affordable homes
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A new report by the Polk County Housing Trust Fund tracks the ongoing affordability contracts with dozens of metro-area housing complexes. Photo illustration: Courtesy of PCHTF
Polk County could see the expiration of affordability agreements at up to 10 apartment complexes — representing as many as 623 units — in the next five years, according to a new analysis by the Polk County Housing Trust Fund (PCHTF).
Why it matters: Affordable housing is already in short supply across the Des Moines metro, especially for residents with the lowest incomes.
- Rent at apartments or homes with soon-to-expire incentives could surge, causing more families to face housing instability or homelessness, local officials warned.
Catch up quick: Federally supported housing incentives provide property owners with subsidies or tax credits in exchange for offering long-term, below-market rents to low-income families.
- Agreements often last for decades, but many are set to expire soon, per the PCHTF, an agency that helps coordinate affordable housing.
State of play: The preservation report is the first detailed overview of the future of metro housing as programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which gained widespread use in the 1990s, approach their expiration dates.
- In total, it identified 13 properties that, collectively, have 741 affordable homes across Polk, Dallas and Warren counties with affordability end dates by 2030.
Yes, but: The report also shows that 837 homes or apartments are planned or under construction.
- That's a "healthy pace of production" but more modest when factoring in the potential losses and the growing need for housing, per the report.
Context: Iowa faces a significant affordable housing shortage, with only 38 housing units available for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to the latest report by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
- The metro had some of the largest disparities between incomes and housing costs in the state, according to the coalition.
What they're saying: It's usually cheaper to preserve affordable units than to build and enroll new ones, Toby O'Berry, PCHTF's executive director, told Polk County supervisors in a meeting last month.
- And the projects coming online may not serve the same low-income populations, meaning that some of the metro's most affordable housing options could be gone, he said.
What we're watching: Whether Polk County leaders take steps — including funding, policy support and direct engagement with property owners — to prevent expiring properties from converting to market-rate rents.
- PCHTF will begin outreach to owners soon, spokesperson Matt Hauge tells Axios.