42 U.S.C. § 12742 — Purposes

The purposes of this subchapter are— (1) to expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing, with primary attention to rental housing, for very low-income and low-income Americans; (2) to mobilize and strengthen the abilities of States and units of general local government throughout the United States to design and implement strategies for achieving an adequate supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing; (3) to provide participating jurisdictions, on a coordinated basis, with the various forms of Federal housing assistance, including capital investment, mortgage insurance, rental assistance, and other Federal assistance, needed— (A) to expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing; (B) to make new construction, rehabilitation, substantial rehabilitation, and acquisition of such housing feasible; and (C) to promote the development of partnerships among the Federal Government, States and units of general local government, private industry, and nonprofit organizations able to utilize effectively all available resources to provide more of such housing; (4) to make housing more affordable for very low-income and low-income families through the use of tenant-based rental assistance; (5) to develop and refine, on an ongoing basis, a selection of model programs incorporating the most effective methods for providing decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing, and accelerate the application of such methods where appropriate throughout the United States to achieve the prudent and efficient use of funds made available under this subchapter; (6) to expand the capacity of nonprofit community housing development organizations to develop and manage decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing; (7) to ensure that Federal investment produces housing stock that is available and affordable to low-income families for the property’s remaining useful life, is appropriate to the neighborhood surroundings, and, wherever appropriate, is mixed income housing; (8) to increase the investment of private capital and the use of private sector resources in the provision of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing; (9) to allocate Federal funds for investment in affordable housing among participating jurisdictions by formula allocation; (10) to leverage those funds insofar as practicable with State and local matching contributions and private investment; (11) to establish for each participating jurisdiction a HOME Investment Trust Fund with a line of credit for investment in affordable housing, with repayments back to its HOME Investment Trust Fund being made available for reinvestment by the jurisdiction; (12) to provide credit enhancement for affordable housing by utilizing the capacities of existing agencies and mortgage finance institutions when most efficient and supplementing their activities when appropriate; and (13) to assist very low-income and low-income families to obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to become responsible homeowners and tenants.