Overview
The attorneys of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell’s Affordable Housing Practice Group understand the business of affordable housing and can tailor their services to meet each client’s unique needs. Our lawyers’ experience includes the use of various financing vehicles, such as low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, traditional commercial loans, and HUD programs, for the development of multifamily and single family housing. We utilize a team approach, providing our clients with expertise in real estate, tax, finance, construction, and related matters as needed. Our lawyers combine this legal experience with industry knowledge and professional contacts to serve our clients efficiently and effectively. Together, we have worked on hundreds of affordable housing finance transactions for properties across the country.
In addition to our transactional work, we actively represent clients in administrative matters before local, state, and federal housing agencies. We also combine with lawyers from our Tax Practice Group to assist tax-exempt organizations with their special needs, including IRS interpretations and state tax exemption matters. When market conditions or other forces leave an affordable housing property struggling, our lawyers work with clients to find short-term and long-term solutions.
Our clients include for-profit and non-profit developers, lenders, investors, governmental agencies, trade associations, and bond issuers, underwriters, and trustees. Representing a variety of parties in the affordable housing industry gives us a breadth of contacts and perspective that benefits our clients in each and every matter.
Our list of practice concentration areas is long and includes the following:
- New construction and rehabilitation
- Multi-family and single family housing
- Special needs housing, including assisted living
- Low-income housing tax credits
- Historic rehabilitation tax credits
- Tax-exempt bond financing
- Construction and permanent loans
- HUD programs, including HOME, CDBG, and HOPE VI
- Housing Assistance Payments
- Local and state tax matters, including ad valorem taxation
- Entity formation and structuring
- Environmental
- Local zoning and land use issues
- Construction law
- Fair housing and compliance issues
- Dispute resolution
- Public policy
Our attorneys are committed to advocating safe, decent, and affordable housing for our communities, not just in their professional lives, but in their personal lives as well. We believe this commitment shows through in the work we perform for our clients. Some of our lawyers devote their time to speaking on the topic of affordable housing at schools and industry seminars. Our Firm supports Texas Community Building with Attorney Resources, an organization providing transactional pro bono legal assistance to non-profit organizations serving low-income communities.