Essential Function Bonds: An Emerging Tool for Affordable Housing Finance

William Apgar, Emily Whiting

W03-2: This report summarizes the findings of a Joint Center for Housing Studies survey of the use and performance of Essential Function Bonds. The report was sponsored by the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies (NALHFA), and completed with the cooperation of the National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) and the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority. Additional support was provided by the Association of Washington Housing Authorities, Bank of America, and McDonald Investment: A Key Corp Company. The Joint Center Survey builds on a previous 1995 survey of Essential Function Bond Activity by researchers at the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington (hereafter called the 1995 Survey)…