The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
As America’s housing crisis continues, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed two-year state budget would add more funding to building homes.
The governor’s state budget proposal would invest $100 million to the Ohio Housing Investment Opportunity Program in fiscal year 2026.
“This budget invests $100 million of the biennium and the infrastructure needed to increase available single and multi-family housing for rural communities, particularly rural communities along our borders, where economic development is driving increased demand,” DeWine said in a press conference earlier this week.
Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio’s Executive Director Amy Riegel was pleased to see this in the budget.
“Gov. DeWine’s new proposal to invest $100 million in rural housing opportunities has the potential to create more affordable housing in high-need areas where development is especially challenging,” she said in a statement.
The Home Matters to Ohio Coalition said the budget is a good start to adding affordable housing.
“The Governor’s new $100 million Housing Investment Opportunity Program has the potential to bridge critical gaps, particularly in rural communities that need more affordable housing options,” the coalition said in a statement. “More than 1 million Ohioans spend over half their income on housing, putting economic stability out of reach for too many families.”
The proposed budget would give the Ohio House Finance Agency $18.9 million for fiscal year 2026 and $19.6 for fiscal year 2027. DeWine’s total state budget is $218 billion. Lawmakers are working on a budget to send back to DeWine, which he must sign by July 1.
The most recent budget created the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which is modeled after the federal version. The Ohio House Finance Agency reserved $87.5 million in tax credits for new projects during fiscal year 2024 and low-income households moved into more than 5,000 new affordable rental housing units, according to the budget proposal.
COHHIO wants the budget to include efforts to help people experiencing homelessness, stabilize the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, prevent the eviction of families with children and allow Medicaid to provide housing stability services.
“The state must fund the services necessary to prevent people from falling into homelessness, to quickly get people out of homelessness, and to keep people stably housed,” Riegel said.
There were 11,759 people experiencing homelessness in Ohio in 2024, according to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development annual Homelessness Assessment Report.
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The Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio recently released a survey showing a majority of residents support laws and policies that increase housing choices and lower home prices.
About 1,350 people responded to the survey, which was conducted in the fall, and more than 80% of those surveyed support:
- Converting offices, hotels and other commercial buildings to housing.
- Building more apartments near bus stations or job centers.
- Requiring quick and clear decisions on building permits.
- Allowing nonprofit organizations to easily build affordable housing on their land.
- Allowing homeowners to add a backyard or over-garage apartment.
- Building more apartments in areas used for offices, stores or restaurants.
- Allowing homeowners to convert a basement or attic into an apartment.
Slightly more than half of those surveyed said they were “personally and negatively affected” by the housing shortage.
“Ohio is supposed to be a place where you can build a life without breaking the bank,” Carlie J. Boos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, said in a statement. “The housing shortage is that identity away from our region and this survey shows that people are sick of it.”
