Looking Ahead to 2021

The Iowa Housing Partnership was created to be a voice for all things Affordable Housing in our state of Iowa. With the world dealing with the pandemic crisis, people working from home and virtual meetings now common place, and overwhelming calls for stimulus funding; all highlight how housing is critical to our daily lives.

On Tuesday, Governor Kim Reynolds outlined her vision for Iowa for 2021, including bold action on affordable housing. She used that term – instead of ‘workforce housing’ – numerous times, an important distinction as we know.

Iowa, like other parts of the country, has an affordable housing issue. Throw in a pandemic, the loss of jobs, and that became even more highlighted. The Iowa Finance Authority (“IFA”) gave out $31 million dollars to over 14,000 Iowa renters, helping protecting them from potential eviction. The Polk County Housing Trust set up a table in the Polk County Courthouse and helped over 700 Polk County families. Each of these groups are valued IHP’s members, one being a board member, this highlights not only the need, but the conviction of Iowans in wanting to help each other.

The Iowa Housing Partnership is a non-partisan advocacy group. The Governor of Iowa announced game changing ideas, that will promote affordable housing in the state of Iowa to a realm we have not seen before. In a recent op-ed, we did in the “Cedar Rapids Gazette,” we wrote:

“We need our leaders, city, county, state and on the federal side to take action. When these disasters pass, and they will, we want to be on the side of the conversation when someone said “You know who did it right? Iowa did.”

We further wrote how we can do it:

  • “Have our local governments reduce regulatory requirements to allow for quicker rebuilding of communities, which could include suspension of building standards that add to the construction costs.
  • Create the first ever state Affordable Housing Tax Credit, which will help in the building of affordable housing
  • Urge the state government to create a disaster housing program to help families with immediate needs after a disaster.
  • Increase the funding for the housing trust funds. Will provide on-going resources for projects across Iowa, controlled locally, to respond to local needs as they arise.”

We have a chance to do it right – and the Iowa Housing Partnership will not only be there promoting solutions – but will be asking everyone to support this.