BAHFA launches two funding opportunities for housing preservation

The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) today launched two funding opportunities to help Bay Area housing preservation practitioners stabilize affordable homes and prevent displacement in neighborhoods with rapidly rising rents.

The new Housing Preservation Project Technical Assistance Grant Program will fund between seven and 13 projects for pre-acquisition consulting costs associated with converting market-rate housing to permanently restricted affordable housing. The second round of funding from the  Housing Preservation Loan Pilot will provide two to three low-interest loans to nonprofit developers and community land trusts to acquire and rehabilitate residential properties occupied by low- and moderate-income residents. BAHFA will begin accepting applications for both programs on April 21.

Grants from the California Department of Housing and Community Development fund both programs. The Housing Preservation Project Technical Assistance Grant program is also supported by the San Francisco Foundation.

Housing preservation, which includes the acquisition, rehabilitation and long-term ownership of residential properties, is a strategy to protect low-income households from displacement. Its success centers on housing organizations’ ability to create financially self-sustaining business models. Limited local or regional funding sources exist to support the capital costs of property acquisition and rehabilitation. However, preservation practitioners must often use their own organizational funds early on to complete substantial predevelopment work before they’re ready to buy the property.

With a total budget of $325,000, the Housing Preservation Project Technical Assistance Grant program will assist with the upfront consulting costs for preservation projects to help mission-driven organizations accelerate their timelines from predevelopment to purchasing the property, and lower the barrier to entry for developers who are in an earlier organizational stage. Providing these grants – up to $50,000 each – will give funding to developers who may otherwise not have cash readily available for this work.

For more information and to apply for a grant, review the Notice of Funding Availability and Housing Preservation Project Technical Assistance Grant Application Portal.

A second round of funding launched today under the Housing Preservation Loan Pilot is another tool in BAHFA’s suite of resources to preserve affordable housing and protect residents by helping mission-driven housing developers buy and rehabilitate residential properties, which are then converted to permanently affordable housing. 

This program will provide $9.05 million in loans to community land trusts and affordable housing developers for acquisition and rehabilitation costs. BAHFA awarded an initial round of $8.75 million to two projects in 2024.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and processed in the order they are received until all funds are committed. Eligible projects received within five business days of each other will be evaluated and scored based on impact toward state and regional policy goals, readiness, experience, resident engagement, and cost effectiveness.

To apply for a loan, review the Notice of Funding Availability and apply through the Housing Preservation Loan Pilot Application Portal. 

Details on both programs will be available during an information session on April 17 at 10 a.m. Register via this link.