On June 2, the Nevada Housing Access and Attainability Act passed in the state Senate and is now headed to the desk of Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is expected to sign it into law.
The bill aims to increase affordable housing and speed up home construction across Nevada.
Lombardo introduced the bill in April, but the version lawmakers approved differs from his original proposal. The amended version allocates $133 million in state funding — down from the originally proposed $200 million — toward affordable housing projects.
It also broadens the definition of affordable housing, allowing applicants earning up to 150% of the area median income to qualify.
During an April legislative hearing, bill supporter Jess Molasky, chief operating officer of Ovation Development, said the changes would help the Nevada Housing Division better serve middle-income renters.
“It gives the division a new tool to help projects that are financially feasible in every way except one — the gap between what it costs to build and what middle-income Nevadans can pay for rent,” Molasky said. “With this legislation, the state can help close that gap.”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates Nevada is short about 78,000 affordable housing units.
The original version of the bill faced criticism for exempting housing projects from prevailing wage requirements. That exemption was removed in the final version.
