Housing Finance Reform and Comprehensive Tax Overhaul Highlight Apartment Industry’s 2012 Priorities For Capitol Hill

By NMHC -

March 13, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 13, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The National Apartment Association (NAA) and National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) announced the apartment industry’s 2012 policy agenda today as part of the NAA Capitol Conference’s lobby day tomorrow. Top priorities for Capitol Hill in the year ahead include housing finance reform, comprehensive tax overhaul and cost-effective regulations.

“The single-family collapse clearly illustrated the consequences of the overzealous push on Capitol Hill towards purchasing homes. With more than a third of all Americans renting and upwards of seven million new renter households expected this decade, it’s time for Congress to create a balanced housing policy that’s as flexible and dynamic as our country’s housing choices,” said NAA President Douglas S. Culkin, CAE.

“The apartment industry is one of the few bright spots in the economy, actually creating jobs, but this success story won’t continue without a reliable source of capital in all markets at all times,” Culkin added.

“We fully support a return to a housing finance system dominated by private capital, but historically, even in healthy economic times, private capital has not been able to fully meet our industry’s capital needs. Not only is private capital limited, it is often targeted to top-tier markets and specific kinds of apartment properties,” said NMHC President Doug Bibby.

“An ongoing federal backstop is critical to ensure that there is always sufficient capital in all markets,” added Bibby. “This isn’t just about new apartment construction. It’s about the $30 to $45 billion in multifamily mortgages that mature each year and need to be refinanced. Interrupting the flow of capital would have serious consequences not only for the property owners but also for the people who live in them.”

Specifically, the apartment industry urges Congress to:

Retain a federal backstop for multifamily mortgages in the new housing finance system, but require borrowers to pay a risk-based price for the guarantee to protect the taxpayers and ensure the soundness of the housing finance system.
Enact comprehensive tax reform that equally addresses individual and corporate tax codes because many jobs-creating businesses, including apartment owners and developers, are organized as partnerships, which are taxed at the individual rate.
Maintain current tax treatment of carried interest, retain the deduction for business interest, protect the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and extend current estate tax legislation.
Demonstrate that the benefits of new rules and regulations justify the costs of complying with them.

Additional information about the apartment industry priorities is available in the NAA/NMHC 2012 Apartment Industry Priorities booklet, available at www.naahq.org/governmentaffairs or www.nmhc.org/goto/2012Agenda.

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For more than 20 years, the National Apartment Association (NAA) and the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) have partnered on behalf of America’s apartment industry. Drawing on the knowledge and policy expertise of staff in Washington, D.C., as well as the advocacy power of 170 NAA state and local affiliated associations, NAA and NMHC provide a single voice for developers, owners and operators of multifamily rental housing. One-third of Americans rent their housing, and more than 14 percent of all U.S. households live in an apartment home. For more information, contact:

NAA at 703/248-9440 or "> or www.naahq/org/governmentaffairs