Localities say the policy change feels like "mixed messaging" amid a broader federal effort to increase affordable housing.

On any given night, thousands of people sleep on the streets in Portland, Oregon. They seek shelter in tents, bushes and overpasses in a city that has struggled with one of the worst housing crises in the country.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Roger Valdez writes about housing economics and policy. First, a simple explanation of a complicated system of financing using tax credits to fund subsidized housing is almost impossible.