Enterprise Point of Contact:
Peter LawrenceSenior Director, Public Policy & Government Affairs
Last Updated: April 28, 2012
Issue Background: GO ZONE Placed-in-Service Deadline
In December 2005, Congress passed the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone Act of 2005 (Public Law No. 109-135) which authorized special allocations of additional Low Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) authority to address the rebuilding and affordable housing needs of the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Eligible counties and parishes received $18 per capita in GO Zone Housing Credit allocations in addition to their regular state per-capita allocations. From 2006-2008 Alabama received $15.7 million annually in GO Zone Housing Credit allocations, Mississippi received $35.4 million in allocations, and Louisiana received $56.8 million in allocations.In order to encourage a rapid rebuilding process, Congress included a provision that mandates that projects must be placed in service (PIS) – i.e., constructed and leased by qualified tenants – by January 1, 2012 in order to be eligible for the GO Zone Housing Credit.
Current Policy State
Congress passed a one-year extension of the GO Zone Housing Credit PIS deadline as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-312). The special GO Zone Housing Credit authority will now expire at the end of this year (December 31, 2011) and all units eligible for the GO Zone Housing Credit must be placed in service by January 1, 2012. Congress had included a two-year extension (through January 1, 2013) of the deadline in several pieces of legislation during the 111th Congress. Congressional supporters introduced bills (S. 30 and H.R. 559) to further extend the PIS deadline to January 1, 2013 early in the 112th Congress.Legislative Priorities
Enterprise supports an extension of the GO Zone Housing Credit PIS deadline.Publications and Resources
Current GO Zone-Related Legislative Proposals (112th Congress)
Previous GO Zone-Related Legislative Proposals (111th Congress)
- Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-312)
- A Bill To Provide an Extension of the Low-Income Housing Credit Placed-in-Service Date Requirement for Certain Disaster Areas (S.1761 and H.R. 3929)
Enterprise Resources
- List of GO Zone Housing Credit Affordable Housing Projects at Risk
- Letter to Congressional Leadership in Support of GO Zone Housing Credit Extension
Enterprise’s Gulf Coast Work
- On February 5, 2007, former President and CEO Doris Koo provided testimony on Enterprise’s hurricane recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast before the House Committee on Financial Services.
External Resources
- Louisiana Association of Affordable Housing Providers (LAAHP)
- National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC): Disaster Recovery
- NLIHC Katrina Housing Group Materials
Housing Production Needs: Three Scenarios for New Orleans
This November 2009 report provides an overview of the state of housing production in New Orleans and outlines three housing production scenarios for the city. The report lists projects that are in the development pipeline and offers the extension of the GO Zone tax incentives as a means to completion.- Housing in the New Orleans Metro Series: Housing Production Needs - Three Scenarios for New Orleans, by Allison Plyer and Elaine Ortiz of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center and Margery Austin Turner and Kathryn L.S. Pettit of the Urban Institute
Articles and Editorials
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The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana):
- Extension of GO Zone Tax Incentives Would Help Low-Income Housing in New Orleans
- Congress Needs to Take Care of these Louisiana Items When it Returns after Elections: An Editorial
- Expiration of GO Zone Tax Incentives May Jeopardize Public Housing
- Sitting in Limbo: Lafitte and B.W. Cooper Top the List of Apartment Complexes Caught up in a Crunch as Officials Push to Extend the GO Zone Deadline
- The New York Times