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The lack of affordable housing is one of the major problems confronting the State of New York and other states across the country.

The New York Attorney General’s office has been committed to helping the state create and preserve affordable housing. On Tuesday, Attorney General James announced the availability of $8 million funding for affordable housing under the Community Land Trusts Capacity Building Initiative.

Funding comes from settlements with large financial institutions

The funding comes from the settlements obtained by the Attorney General’s office from Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS.  Last year, both banks agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to settle the allegations involving its misconducts that contributed to the housing crisis.

The Royal Bank of Scotland settled the Attorney General’s complaint for $500 million and UBS for $230 million.

In 2017, former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Enterprise Community Partners launched the Community Land Trusts (CLTs) Capacity Building Initiative with $3.5 million in funding. CLTs are non-profit organizations dedicated to managing affordable housing and community assets.

At the time, Schneiderman funded the Initiative from settlements with large financial institutions. The Initiative distributed the money to four New York counties and municipalities to create and expand local CLTs. The objective was to boost community revitalization and preservation efforts in areas with high rates of foreclosures and loss of affordable housing.

Communities across New York State need affordable housing

This year, James increased the funding for the initiative due to fact that communities across New York need more affordable housing.

In a statement Tuesday, the Attorney General said, “The need for affordable housing is felt in communities throughout New York State,” Community Land Trusts create and preserve affordable housing and ensure the process is in the best interest of the communities they serve. Protecting communities and providing safe and affordable homes will always be a priority, and I am pleased we will continue to support countless families with this program.”

This time, the Initiative will be distributing the $8 million to eight municipalities and counties to support CLTs in their region. The Enterprise Community Partners, which is responsible for supervising the Initiative, released a Request for Applications (RFA) on Tuesday.

A municipality or county with existing or emerging CLTs are eligible to apply. Applications are due on April 1 and awards will be announced in mid-May this year.