City offers affordable housing
Over the next five years more affordable housing is planned for the city. Find out how you can qualify.
Looking to put down permanent roots in D.C. after you graduate, but think it’s too expensive? Well, the city offers a number of affordable housing programs which might allow you to do just that.
One in particular, the inclusionary zoning program, helps residents buy homes and rent apartments when market rate rent is unaffordable. Inclusionary zoning requires new residential developments to provide a certain number of apartments and condos where the rent or selling price is lower than the market rate.
A new modern luxury apartment located on H street N.E. Photo: Keisha Thompson.
This year Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed a new application that would increase inclusionary zoning building requirements by up to 20 percent and allow developers to build larger buildings in a particular zone.
The changes would release more affordable units in the next five years and is part of the effort to build 36,000 new affordable homes-12,000 of them affordable -by 2025. According to District Data, the Capitol Hill area has the lowest percentage of such homes, but that could change. The goal is to add an additional 1,400 affordable units in Ward 6 in five years.
“The expanded inclusionary zoning is a solution that reflects D.C. values, a solution that will not just yield more better homes, but more and better opportunities for residents in those homes,” Bowser said.
Currently qualification for the program is based on income and household size; for example a household of one person can only earn $25,450, while the figure is $40,050 for a 5-person household. Full-time students are not eligible to apply. In the past three years, the program has provided nearly 800 units for D.C residents.
Once the units are available, D.C. runs a lottery among registered households.There is also a lottery system for households who want to purchase a condo, with lenders available to help with financing.
Please visit the site below to apply for the program.
https://dhcd.dc.gov/service/inclusionary-zoning-affordable-housing-program
