D.C.’s Housing Production Trust Fund to get better oversight, more staff

In March 2017, the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor (ODCA) conducted its first-ever audit of the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF), the permanent, revolving fund that produces affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households in Washington, D.C. While analyzing the full 16 years that the HPTF has been active, the ODCA ruled that the DHCD was not fully consistent in screening families or ensuring that developers kept their promises.

Now, according to an article on the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute website, the DHCD is implementing the audit’s recommendations by stepping up its monitoring of affordable housing projects assisted by the HPTF. To do this, the DHCD will add five more staff members that will oversee the HPTF and other housing projects in the fiscal year 2018.

Additionally, after finding gaps of information in the audit, the D.C. Auditor, Chief Financial Officer, and DHCD will review every loan agreement, many of which haven’t ever been digitized. According to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute website, these efforts will eventually be compiled in an accurate and authoritative dataset.

• DC Is on Track to Provide Better Oversight of The Housing Production Trust Fund [D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute]