Council members spent a substantial portion of the session on housing finance and program performance, pressing the city to protect existing affordable units while still supporting new production.

A proposal from the Committee on Housing calls for a 30% minimum set‑aside of the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF) to go to preservation projects. Supporters argued preservation is faster and less expensive per unit than new construction and said the city is losing naturally affordable housing faster than it can be built. Committee members cited data that multifamily permitting and new construction have dropped sharply since earlier years while older affordable units remain at risk because many buildings are more than 40–50 years old and need repair.

Members also probed the Department of Human Services (DHS) about its rapid rehousing portfolio, which the department and the committee agreed has produced mixed outcomes. Committee staff described DHS projections showing a $112.6 million pressure driven largely by delayed exits from the family rehousing and stabilization program and higher shelter contract costs. DHS has used contingency and supplemental funds repeatedly and still projects an unresolved balance; council members urged program redesign to avoid recurring overspending.

The council pressed the Office of the Housing Production Trust Fund on HPAP (Home Purchase Assistance Program) administration. Last year the agency moved from a first‑come, first‑served approval process to a lottery intended to spread benefits more evenly, but home‑buying stakeholders said the lottery makes assistance unpredictable and undermines buyers’ ability to close on homes. The committee restored items to allow HPAP applicants who complete counseling to remain eligible for two years instead of one, and asked DCPL and HPAP administrators to return with operational fixes before the next budget year.

Why it matters: The HPTF is one of the city’s largest housing subsidies. Shifting dollars toward preservation would change how the city allocates scarce housing dollars and affect the pace of new construction, while HPAP changes affect residents’ ability to buy homes today.

Ending: Council members asked the agencies to provide detailed cost estimates and program outcomes and to draft specific preservation criteria and HPAP operational changes in time for the next budget stage.