The housing trust fund (HTF) was established by the housing and economic recovery act of 2008 to provide funds to grantees for affordable housing activities

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded Rhode Island Housing $3,001,259.36 under the Housing Trust Fund (CFDA 14.275) on February 9, 2026.

Rhode Island Housing will use the grant to acquire, newly construct, or rehabilitate rental housing for extremely low-income and very low-income households. At least 80 percent of the award must support rental housing activities; up to 10 percent may fund homeownership assistance and up to 10 percent for Rhode Island Housing's administrative and planning costs. Up to 30 percent of the funds may support operation of rental housing acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated with Housing Trust Fund resources. Assistance will be provided through grants, equity investments, or interest-bearing or non-interest-bearing loans. Housing produced or preserved is expected to serve households with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater.

Rhode Island Housing, a quasi-public state housing authority and subsidiary of the State of Rhode Island headquartered in Providence, is the direct recipient. The award period runs through February 9, 2033, with place of performance at Providence, RI 02903. All committed funds must be expended within five years of award.

Activities

Grantees must use at least 80 percent of each annual grant for rental housing. Grantees may use up to 10 percent for homeownership and up to 10 percent for its reasonable administrative and planning costs. Grantees use their housing trust fund funds to provide assistance in the forms of grants, equity investments, or interest-bearing or non-interest bearing loans to acquire, newly construct, or rehabilitate affordable housing. In addition, up to 30 percent of a grantee's housing trust fund funds may be used for the operation of rental housing that is acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated with housing trust fund funds.

Expected outcomes

Based on priorities identified in the grantee's annual allocation plan that is submitted to HUD, IT is expected that grantees will use housing trust fund funds to acquire, rehabilitate, or newly construct affordable rental housing units for households with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income (AMI) or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater. The quantifiable results of this program change on a constant basis. However, they can be tracked via the HTF national production report. This monthly cumulative summary report of HTF data by federal fiscal year (FY) includes: allocations, commitments, disbursements, leveraging ratios, low-income benefit, committed funds by activity type, and HTF cost per unit by tenure and activity type. The monthly report can be reviewed at https://WWW.hudexchange.info/programs/HTF/HTF-national-production-reports/

Intended beneficiaries

At least 75 percent of housing trust fund funds must be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 30 percent of AMI or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater. The remaining 25 percent can be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 50 percent of AMI, except when the annual amount available to allocate is less than $1 billion in which case 100 percent of the housing trust fund allocation must benefit households with incomes at or below 30 percent of AMI or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater.

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award.