The federal government began building subsidized housing during the New Deal, and in the decades since, a complex tangle of federal programs has evolved to tackle the housing needs of low-income renters. Low Income Housing Tax Credits(LIHTC) provide an up-front subsidy to developers of rental housing (or their equity investors) in return for a commitment to charge below-market rent levels. Rents for these units must be set at levels that are deemed affordable for households with moderately low income levels for the local area, and the units are set aside for residents at or below this income ceiling. All eligible residents pay the same rent; the LIHTC program does not require (nor does it provide sufficient subsidies to allow) every unit to be affordable for the family that lives in it.