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For over 30 years, the Ohio Housing Trust Fund has helped ensure that seniors, families, people with disabilities, and low-income Ohioans have access to safe, affordable housing
The Ohio Housing Trust Fund (OHTF) is the state’s primary source of funding for affordable housing and homelessness services. Created to expand housing opportunities and stability, the fund helps communities develop and preserve housing, prevent homelessness, and address local needs. Established with broad bipartisan support, the OHTF operates under state law and is administered by the Ohio Department of Development. Its reach spans all 88 counties, supporting both urban and rural initiatives that keep Ohioans safely housed.
The Ohio Housing Trust Fund provides vital support to older adults, families with children, people with disabilities, and survivors of domestic violence. It also serves low-income homeowners, those moving out of homelessness, and communities in rural or historically underserved areas.
In 1990, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment (Article VIII, Section 16) calling on the state to provide housing assistance. The following year, the General Assembly created the Ohio Housing Trust Fund with broad bipartisan support.
During the early years, various funding sources were used while policymakers worked to identify a permanent source of funding for the OHTF. Three separate study committees convened by Governor Voinovich, Governor Taft, and the legislature itself all issued the same primary recommendation: create a Housing Trust Fund Fee that aligns with the county recorder fee so that all fee revenue collected by recorders should be divided 50-50 between counties and the Housing Trust Fund. That proposal garnered consensus and was finally adopted through passage of the 2003 biennial budget bill with strong bipartisan support.
State statute requires that at least 75% of OHTF dollars serve individuals and families earning below 50% of the area median income (AMI), with a preference for those below 35%.
State law also requires at least half of OHTF funding be awarded to rural areas.
OHTF dollars are administered by the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) and allocated based on recommendations by a seven-member advisory committee representing various real estate, lending, housing, and local government sectors.
A broad range of organizations can apply for OHTF resources, including nonprofits and private businesses. ODOD awards funding for homelessness and home repair services through a competitive application. The agency typically funds a wide range of local agencies, from Area Agencies on Aging, to local Habitat for Humanity chapters, to homeless shelters. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency also invests OHTF dollars into housing development and community revitalization projects.
The Housing Trust Fund Fee revenue, which mirrors county recording fees, fluctuates from year-to-year according to the real estate market. Collections reached an all-time high of $73 million in FY 2005 during the pre-recession housing bubble.
In recent years, home price inflation and high interest rates have slowed the housing market, driving fee revenues far below the current $65 million/year appropriation limit. FY 2024 fee collections totaled only $41 million – a near record low.Counties’ shift from paper to digital document recording systems has also created even greater uncertainty for future OHTF fee revenues.
Declining OHTF revenues coincide with Ohio's housing affordability crisis that is driving increased rates of eviction and homelessness.
The Ohio Housing Trust Fund is a lifeline for local agencies that serve the most vulnerable Ohioans. In FY 2024, OHTF-funded programs provided critical support:
The Ohio Housing Trust Fund makes housing more affordable for Ohio’s workforce, while helping to grow the number of jobs and revenue for the state. According to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency's most recent economic impact study, $45 million per year in OHTF funding leveraged:
