$20M program launched to expand affordable rental housing in rural Maine
Gov. Janet Mills and MaineHousing on Tuesday announced a $20 million program to tackle the housing shortage by expanding the availability of affordable rental housing across rural parts of the state.
The Rural Affordable Rental Housing Program will provide funding to build affordable rental housing units. Under the program, projects must be between five and 18 units in size and can come from new construction, rehabilitation of existing housing, or reuse of existing buildings into livable spaces for low- and moderate-income households.
The program is funded with $10 million from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, as well as $10 million from MaineHousing, the state's housing authority.
The program will provide forgivable loans at zero interest. Housing units built or rehabilitated by the program will need to be maintained as affordable, as measured based on the area’s median household income, for 45 years.
“The lack of affordable housing in rural areas, to buy or to rent, is a real barrier. This program … is meant to tackle that problem and ensure that Maine people will have access to housing they can afford so they can put down roots and contribute to the success of our state,” said Mills. “I thank MaineHousing for its partnership on this important project.”
MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan said, “This effort is a new and innovative approach, providing meaningful development capital for smaller projects in more rural parts of Maine. The creation of this program is a positive step forward in ensuring equity in affordable housing creation for all parts of Maine.”
The rural housing program is the latest in a series of measures to deal with the housing crisis.
Two weeks ago, Mills signed two bills to further expand the availability of affordable housing in Maine.
The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan has also invested $50 million for affordable and workforce housing initiatives through MaineHousing. The first, a $10 million program to build up to 150 single-family homes, was announced in January.
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Sadly, every aspect of this low income housing is going to be paid for by we the taxpayers of this state, even the federal funding mentioned is nothing more than our tax dollars already paid to the federal government but never originally allocated to subsidize housing. This is not found anywhere in the Constitution and not guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Life didn't come with a warranty yet this administration feels it necessary to guaranty housing in an area that otherwise these low income people could not afford.
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