(a) It is the express purpose of this Act that the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, (hereinafter “VIHFA”), as an independent instrumentality of the Government, shall operate the Affordable Housing Program for low and moderate income persons under this Act. The VIHFA shall cooperate with each other so that the criteria established for qualification as a low and moderate income family remains substantially the same, and so that no applicant shall find greater incentives for the construction of one type of housing over another. To that end, rules and regulations for the Program shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be promulgated by the VIHFA.
(b) It is the policy and purpose of this Act to:
(1) Provide decent, safe, sanitary, aesthetically acceptable, high quality affordable housing for persons and families of low and moderate income by (i) stimulating single-family home ownership opportunities for such persons and families, (ii) encouraging the development of housing cooperatives for low and moderate income households, and (iii) increasing the supply and reducing the monthly rents of multifamily housing, through a comprehensive program that reduces the cost of land, construction and financing and provides subsidies for low income housing.
(2) Provide Government owned land and site improvements to reduce the cost of housing sites.
(3) Encourage investment in and development of the factory-built housing industry in order to reduce housing construction costs and provide jobs for Virgin Islanders.
(4) Provide financing for owner-occupied and rental housing developments on in-fill lots and as part of larger scale residential subdivisions.
(5) Offer incentives, including tax exemptions and income tax liability reductions, to encourage the construction of affordable housing.
(6) Provide a mechanism for the establishment and maintenance of a Housing Trust Fund to be used to facilitate construction of new owner-occupied and rental housing developments and to provide assistance to home buyers and renters.
(7) Authorize the Government of the Virgin Islands, acting through the Governor and the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority and in conjunction with other Government agencies and authorities and in coordination with other Government housing and community development programs, to provide for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and financing of affordable housing as hereinafter in this Act provided.