Updated June 16, 2025: The Ohio Senate passed their version of the state budget bill last week restoring both the Ohio Housing Trust Fund and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. This is proof that your advocacy is working!

COHHIO Executive Director Amy Riegel issued the following statement in response to the Ohio Senate’s support for the Housing Trust Fund:

“We are incredibly thankful to our champions in the Senate who understand that the Ohio Housing Trust Fund is the state’s most powerful tool for fighting homelessness and expanding affordable housing. We will continue to make the case for maintaining the OHTF as the budget bill moves through the legislative process. And we look forward to future discussions about how we can work together to strengthen the OHTF’s ability to address Ohio’s affordable housing crisis.”

While this is good news, the threat to the Housing Trust Fund isn’t over until a conference committee hashes out the differences between the House and Senate’s versions of the budget starting this week.

Please spare a few moments to contact the following legislative leaders and the members of the conference committee and urge them to protect the Ohio Housing Trust Fund!

And here is a simple message to use in your calls and emails:

  • I’m very thankful that the Senate’s budget restores the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, the primary source of state funding for local homelessness and affordable housing programs.
  • The Housing Trust Fund has a 30-year record of investing these funds responsibly and effectively in our community without impacting the state’s general revenue fund.
  • Please maintain the Housing Trust Fund in the final budget bill – adopt the Senate’s version of DEVCD57 in the Conference Committee report.

Thank you for amplifying our advocacy to save the Housing Trust Fund! Your outreach to legislators is working!

Background: The Ohio House included an amendment in their version of the biennial budget that would forfeit state oversight of Ohio Housing Trust Fund, the primary source of state funding for local homelessness and affordable housing services. The surprise amendment, which was never publicly discussed and had no identified supporters, would allow each county to keep all the Housing Trust Fund Fee revenue they collect for unspecified “housing-related purposes.”

The House amendment would diminish overall funding for local homelessness, home repair, and affordable housing programs, especially in Ohio’s rural areas that rely on multi-county awards from the Housing Trust Fund. A county-by-county approach would siphon resources away from vulnerable Ohioans to administrative costs because running 88 small housing programs is much more expensive and inefficient than running one large one at the state level. The House’s amendment would accelerate the depopulation of rural Ohio, pushing even more Ohioans into urban and suburban areas, increasing demand for already scarce affordable housing.

The Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency use OHTF funds for a variety of different programs. If your agency receives funding from these sources, it likely includes OHTF dollars:

  • Homeless Crisis Response Program (HCRP)
  • Supportive Housing Program
  • Housing Assistance Grant Program (HAGP)
  • Community Housing Impact and Preservation Program (CHIP)
  • Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP)
  • Resident Services Coordinator Program

See COHHIO’s OHTF web page for more information about how the Housing Trust Fund supports local homelessness, home repair, and affordable housing initiatives in communities throughout Ohio. And please contact Advocacy and Policy Coordinator Elizabeth Marti​ndale if you have any questions about contacting your member, and any updates you may have after speaking with them.

Thank you,

The COHHIO Team