Virginia Housing Trust Fund

In 2013, the General Assembly established the Virginia Housing Trust Fund (VHTF) as a flexible financial resource to create, preserve, and support affordable housing projects that cater to the diversity of Virginia’s low-income residents – including individuals, families, veterans, senior citizens, people with disabilities, and those who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Each year, the General Assembly allocates funds to the VHTF, which are administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Overall, the VHTF strengthens the ecosystem of affordable housing financing in Virginia by offering both loans and grants that prioritize housing for those who need it the most.

Affordable and Special Needs Housing

Eighty percent of the funds are distributed through the Affordable and Special Needs Housing (ASNH) competitive loan pool. Priority is given to deeply affordable and permanent supportive housing projects, but all projects must at least have units affordable to those making 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less. VHTF loans are often used in collaboration with other partner programs, such as the Housing Innovations in Energy Efficiency (HIEE) program, to develop projects that are also environmentally sustainable and energy efficient. Because VHTF awards are often the final dollars needed to make a project viable, these loans help leverage billions more in other funding sources.

Homeless Reduction Grants

The remaining 20 percent of the VHTF is set aside for Homeless Reduction Grants available to homeless service providers across the state. These grants have been used in a variety of ways, including rapid re-housing, projects for unaccompanied youth or older adults experiencing homelessness, and rental assistance and supportive services for households enduring chronic homelessness.

How the Virginia Housing Trust Fund is used

This chart shows the amount of funding invested in the VHTF each year and how those dollars have been used over time. Currently, the VHTF is funded at $87.5 Million a year, which is the General Assembly’s largest investment in the program to date. Continued and increased funding is needed to address our statewide shortage of at least 300,000 affordable homes and ensure every Virginian has a safe, stable, and affordable place to live.

VHTF Projects and Impact

The Virginia Housing Alliance has committed to publishing an annual impact report for the VHTF to illustrate the compelling success of the Commonwealth’s primary investment in affordable housing. The 2025 report features projects awarded through the competitive loan pool during the 2020-2021 cycle and with homeless reduction grants for the 2024 program year.

From 2014 through 2025, the Virginia Housing Trust Fund has contributed to the preservation and creation of at least 22,368 affordable units and supported over 11,500 households experiencing or at risk of homelessness.