Gov. Ned Lamont, second from right, poses with state Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno, second from left in Bridgeport on Feb. 16, 2023. CT Department of Housing photo / File
Gov. Ned Lamont visited Bridgeport Thursday to tout a piece of his two-year budget proposal that would dramatically expand state spending on housing development.
The governor held a press conference to spotlight his plan to roughly double, to $600 million over two years, state spending on workforce housing development and down payment assistance.
“Last year, we built more market rate and affordable housing than any time this century, and yet we are still desperately short of available housing, particularly for low and middle-income families,” Lamont said in a statement. “We cannot let our state fall into a housing crisis. Our administration is proposing significantly increased investments in affordable and workforce housing because this is a critical component needed to grow good-paying jobs, ensure businesses have the workforce necessary to fill in-demand positions, incentivize young people to stay in Connecticut, and support our economy.”
The plan would spend $50 million per year on the state’s Time to Own down payment aid program for low- and moderate-income homebuyers, enough to help fund around 1,250 home purchases per year, Lamont’s office said.
It would also see $100 million each year dedicated to finance workforce housing development, focused on units for people making between 60 percent and 120 percent of area median income. Lamont’s office estimates that this could add to financing packages for up to 2,000 new units.
Another $50 million per year would be added to the state Housing Trust Fund and be steered towards multifamily housing in the state’s many downtowns.
Another $100 million would be dedicated each year to what Lamont’s office called “flexible housing.”
Lamont’s office said the governor wants the spending to finance the creation of 6,400 new affordable units over the next two years.
“These significant increases in resources being proposed illustrate just how serious Gov.Lamont takes this issue,” Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said in a statement. “It is also a sign of his confidence in our agency to continue to do the necessary and important work of increasing our housing supply, as well as providing a pathway to create new homeowners. I am eager to continue working towards passing the governor’s budget with these major investments intact, which will allow the funding of new construction and rehabilitation of existing housing stock in order to house individuals and families within those income bands.”
Lamont also announced he’s backing a pair of bills filed in the General Assembly: Senate Bill 985, which would dedicate bond funding to stimulate transit-oriented development and require towns and cities to file annual reports on housing production, and House Bill 6666, which would limit renters’ security deposits to one month, raise landlords’ fines for housing code violations from $250 to $1,000 and bar housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
