Seven new housing bills become law in Delaware, including one to create the Affordable Rental Housing Program and several to support manufactured housing communities.
The Housing Development Fund works in conjunction with federal dollars to help finance affordable housing projects statewide for low- to moderate-income families.
The new Affordable Rental Housing Program, created by Senate Bill 150, will nest under the state’s Housing Development Fund and will provide long-term loans for affordable rental housing projects for vulnerable populations.
“Senate Bill 150 is about making sure Delaware has the flexibility to get affordable housing projects across the finish line. By giving our housing finance agency more tools, we're helping ensure that families, seniors, and others can find safe, decent, stable and affordable homes," said the bill's sponsor State Sen. Russ Huxtable (D-Lewes) during the signing ceremony.
While Sen. Huxtable is grateful the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) now has another tool in the toolbox to increase access to housing, he calls on the federal government to proactively work on addressing the nationwide affordable housing crisis.
"You cannot declare an emergency, on one hand, while increasing the cost via tariffs and cutting the very programs that address affordability, with the other," Sen. Huxtable said. "Expanding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program helps the tax credits, a program that runs through Treasury, and helps provide equity to developers to build affordable housing, ultimately benefits and flows through corporate balance sheets. And they were never meant to stand alone. If we're serious about tackling this crisis, we need a federal government that once again commits to investing directly in homes, not just tax policy."
Senate Bill 40 was also highlighted among the series of bills that were signed Wednesday — Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings called the legislation one of the most important bills of this year’s legislative session.
The bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Jack Walsh (D-Stanton), explains the new law strengthens protections for tenants of manufactured housing communities by enhancing enforcement mechanisms against landlord violations.
“This bill basically empowers the tenants or group of tenants or the attorney general to file for receivership if landlords fail to address issues within five days of notice and allows the attorney general to intervene directly in such cases, which is so important," he said.
Another bill from Sen. Huxtable, Senate Bill 176, allows Sussex County Council to join other counties in implementing impact fees.
If adopted by County Council, a surcharge of no more than 1.25% of the construction value could be added to building permit applications to provide funding for the local share of school construction projects.
The bill is similar to legislation from Sen. Huxtable that was signed into law in 2023, enabling Sussex County to implement a voluntary school assessment (VSA) fee to address the impact of residential development on school capacity.
A VSA requires developers to pay a fee per unit built, which some argue ultimately gets tagged on to the purchase or rental price and falls on the consumer.
County Council opted not to implement a VSA in February 2024, but several fresh faces on the council following the election have expressed interest in reconsidering that decision.
County Council has already begun talks of adopting an impact fee, with some noting they would favor doing so over implementing a VSA.
Additional legislation signed into law repeals the $15 million cap on on the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Trust Fund, which helps provide financial assistance to manufactured home and park owners for the costs of moving a manufactured home.
Another bill raises the amount of the tenant portion of a monthly assessment administered by the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority from 50 cents to $1.50 to increase funding for attorneys.
The bill's sponsor, State Rep. Kyra Hoffner (D-Leipsic) says employing more attorneys on behalf of the manufactured housing community is crucial to compete with out-of-state landowners.
"I also have to give a big shout out to Fred Neil, who brought this to my attention, about the out-of-state landowners taking our money, taking our Delaware money, and bringing it out of state. They're not spending it here, so they're making money off of our citizens and taking it out. They're also not treating our tenants as well as they should," Sen. Hoffner said.
Another updates the Right to Representation statute in Delaware Code by moving certain duties to the office of the State Courts Administrator and the final bill closes a loophole that previously let manufactured housing community owners block sales or inheritance rights.
