Bill Filed to Address Housing Shortage in Wyoming

January 22, 2025

News – Sheridan Media

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Recognizing a lack of attainable housing options, from affordable, workforce, starter and
senior homes, is a barrier to healthy communities, a bipartisan group of legislators are sponsoring House Bill 272, which creates grants and low interest loans for the construction and rehabilitation of homes. “Housing is the number one issue I heard at the door” shares bill sponsor Representative Trey Sherwood, Albany County. “Parents hate to see their children move out-of-state for better housing markets, while young families who do want to stay can’t afford a starter home and end up spending an exorbitant amount of their income on housing. Wyoming’s hardworking families shouldn’t have to go into debt to put a roof over their heads”.

Co-sponsor, Senator Evie Brennan, Laramie County, adds, “We talk a lot about economic
development and diversifying our economy. If we are going to do these two things, we have to
have a workforce. In order to have that workforce, we have to have affordable housing. We can
not keep our children here or attract new families if we don’t have the infrastructure. Affordable housing is part of that infrastructure needed for our communities and state to thrive”. The bill creates the “Wyoming Statewide Housing Investment Fund” which would provide funding to the state’s Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA) to create financial assistance programs for nonprofits and local governments, and low interest loans for developers. Wyoming is one of just three states without such a fund.

Wyoming nonprofits, like Habitat for Humanity and the Wyoming Housing Network, would be
eligible for grants and zero interest loans for new construction, repairs and rehabilitation,
transitional housing, first time homebuyer assistance and rental voucher programs.
For profit businesses could access low interest revolving loan funds for new construction, repairs and rehabilitation.

Government entities and non-profits could also apply for funds to assist with administration,
planning and capacity building for housing projects. In response to the bill, Scott Hoversland, Director of the Wyoming Community Development Authority said, “A Statewide Housing Investment Fund is one of the first strategies called out in our Statewide Housing Strategic Action Plan. Funds deployed by the state can be more flexible than those WCDA administers for the federal government and can be targeted for activities that support state and local needs”.

This fall, the WCDA released their housing report documenting a need for 20,700 to 38,600 new housing units statewide to meet demand. In response, their strategic plan calls for “a flexible housing development fund through which Wyoming localities can receive grants, low-cost loans, credit guarantees, or other forms of financial assistance to support the creation or preservation of housing”. The plan states, “A key benefit of a flexible housing development fund is that Wyoming can structure it to serve specific populations that cannot be served using federal housing resources …ensuring that Wyoming is able to attract new employers and retain essential workers like teachers, firefighters, and heal care providers – while also giving localities control of how they use the funds”.

Housing is indeed a statewide challenge. In 2022, the Wyoming Association of Municipalities
surveyed their 98 member communities and found that 90% of cities and towns are experiencing some sort of housing shortage. From affordable housing, essential workforce housing and housing for seniors, each community felt a lack of housing was hindering recruitment and stalling economic diversification efforts. Sherwood believes “the lack of housing is stifling our economy and making it impossible for families to keep roots in our communities.

The government must serve hardworking people, not just the wealthy and well-connected, to set up the next generation for success. If we want our young people to stay and raise their kids in Wyoming, we must invest in housing infrastructure.” On January 9th the WCDA presented their Statewide Strategic Housing Action Plan along with a toolkit of resources designed to help communities address issues related to housing production and preservation. The formation of the Wyoming Housing Investment Fund will support these efforts.

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