The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) was created in 1974, 10 years after the first state Housing Finance Agency (HFA) began issuing housing bonds to finance homes for first-time homebuyers. What began as a small group of executive directors meeting annually has grown into a powerful national association and advocate for HFAs and affordable housing in Washington.
NCSHA represents its members in Washington before Congress, the Administration, and several federal agencies concerned with housing, including HUD and the Treasury, and with other advocates for affordable housing.
At the center of HFA activity within the states and NCSHAs work in Washington are three federally authorized programs:
the Housing Bonds,
the Housing Credit, and
the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program.
NCSHA is the principal advocate in Washington for both Housing Bonds and the Housing Credit and the principal state advocate for HOME.
NCSHAs members are the HFAs of every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, the agencies that allocate the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) in the states where an HFA does not, and approximately 350 affiliate members in the affordable housing field.