Housing Politics WA program to help low-income tenants buy homes has led to zero purchases

A state-run housing program that has failed to deliver on its promise of providing longtime tenants a chance to buy their homes came under fire from Washington lawmakers on Wednesday.

A bipartisan panel conducted a hearing on a new state audit that found no purchases have been made through the program that operates mostly in Indian Country and is overseen by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. That’s despite at least 135 units being eligible for homeownership.

“This really did clarify that there was serious mismanagement and that thousands of Native American tenants are not getting to own the homes they are living in as they were promised,” Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, said after the meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee.

State auditors found that the program giving low-income renters the ability to own their homes after 15 years is “little-known and largely misunderstood.”

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/12/04/wa-program-to-help-low-income-tenants-buy-homes-has-led-to-zero-purchases/