Housing (Affordable Housing)

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 65 to define terms; permit a local government to establish a revolving loan program fund to facilitate affordable housing; establish requirements for the fund; permit a local government to use bonding authority to support a fund; establish means and terms of repayment of bonds issued for a fund; permit a local government to use a fund to make loans for development of affordable housing and for rehabilitation of homes by low-income persons; allow local government to assess fines and fees for failure to repay loans as part of a program; create a lien in association with a loan issued under a program and set out priority of the lien.

Amend KRS 142.400 to impose a 1% statewide surtax on the rental of accommodations when charged by the owner of the property or by a person facilitating the rental of the property and deposit the receipts from the surtax into the affordable housing trust fund; amend KRS 142.402, 142.404, 142.406, and 198A.190 to conform; EFFECTIVE August 1, 2026.

Amend KRS 171.396 to define and redefine certain terms; allow the certified rehabilitation credit cap to be allocated as 15% for owner-occupied residential property and 85% for property other than owner-occupied residential property, including workforce housing; require that projects approved as workforce housing maintain affordability for individuals earning 80% of the county level area median income or less; amend KRS 171.397 to state that the provisions established in this statute pertain to applications received before April 30, 2026; create a new section of KRS Chapter 171 to apply to applications received after April 30, 2026 with certain changes; current credit program cap of $100 million is maintained; with a split of $50 million into 2 separate credit allocation application rounds; expand the credit to apply to certain taxes imposed in KRS Chapter 136; require the Kentucky Heritage Council to work with the Kentucky Housing Corporation to ensure the workforce housing property maintains area median income affordability requirements for 5 years within completion of the certified rehabilitation; create a new section of KRS Chapter 198A to require the corporation to work with the Kentucky Heritage Council for these purposes; amend KRS 141.0205; 141.382; and 171.3961 to make conforming changes.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 198A to create the affordable housing loan pool fund to be administered by the Kentucky Housing Corporation to provide rehabilitation and construction loans to eligible entities; specify terms and process; amend KRS 198A.080 to modify criteria for housing development loan fund, require notice of eligible funds, and allow expenditure of funds for technical and administrative costs; create a new section of KRS Chapter 198A to establish parameters by which the Kentucky Housing Corporation shall review and approve the affordable housing credit; create a new section of KRS Chapter 141 to establish the affordable housing credit; amend KRS 141.0205 to order the credit; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the Department of Revenue to report on the credits; appropriate $102,000,000 from the Budget Reserve Trust Fund account for various affordable housing initiatives; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 100 to define terms; make affordable housing developed by a religious developer a permitted use and require only a ministerial review by a planning unit for compliance with the section; include requirements that an affordable housing development must meet including that it be on property owned by a religious institution prior to January 1, 2026, exclusively contains affordable housing, be less than 24 units and be located only on a parcel in certain zones, and to have obtained all other permits; require a religious institution that does not continue to qualify to seek approval from a planning unit; allow the Kentucky Housing Corporation to advise religious developers regarding affordable housing developments; allow homeless shelters operated by a religious institution to be permitted uses in commercial or business zones.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 198A to establish the abandoned home pool fund to be administered by the Kentucky Housing Corporation to purchase and improve vacant and abandoned homes for rental to eligible individuals and families; specify application process and eligibility criteria.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 198A to define terms; establish the abandoned home pool fund to be administered by the Kentucky Housing Corporation; specify eligible recipients, activities, and uses of fund; amend KRS 64.012 to increase county clerk recording fees and add a $2 fee to be deposited in the abandoned home pool fund; appropriate $25,000,000 from the General Fund to the abandoned home pool fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY, effective July 1, 2026.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 198A, relating to affordable housing, to define terms; require agencies that expend state or federal affordable housing funds to expend at least 90% of those funds on single-family detached housing and no more than 10% of those funds on multifamily housing in any given fiscal year; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 64.012 to increase and modify fees received by the county clerk; after January 1, 2027, allow recalculation using the CPI-U, with the fee increase going to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; apply to fees received by county clerks for services provided on or after August 1, 2026.