FAQ - Affordable Housing
What do you mean by "affordable housing"?
Policymakers and advocates call housing “affordable” when a household pays no more than 30% of its total income for housing costs. In the Bay Area, low- and moderate-income people can have a very difficult time finding housing that passes this test. That’s why private, non-profit developers like Resources for Community Development (RCD) work closely with local governments, funders, faith based groups, and other community organizations to create and preserve housing for people at these income levels. Affordable housing is different from public housing in that public housing is owned by public entities, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and local housing authorities.
How is affordable housing created?
Affordable housing is developed by private developers, mostly non-profits like RCD, of which many are local community or faith-based organizations. RCD assembles a combination of private funding and government subsidies, which, with future rental income, ensures full funding for each project from design and construction through operations. RCD also selects an architectural and construction team, with specialized sub-consultants, to work closely with the community to design the best possible housing development.
For how long will these units be affordable?
A 55-year affordability restriction will be put in place. This is a funder requirement particular to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. To require perpetual affordability would mean potential tax credit investors would not allow there to be county or state “soft debt,” which are critical pieces of the financing plan.
Please note, however, that RCD is a non-profit with a mission to provide affordable housing to people with the fewest options. We are not and have never been interested in converting our properties to market-rate or selling our properties to market-rate developers. Please be assured that we plan and expect Victory Village to remain affordable in perpetuity and beyond the 55-year period.
What are Project-Based Vouchers?
The Project-Based Vouchers (PBV) program is a rental subsidy that is awarded to a particular property or to an individual household wherever they live. It allows qualifying residents to pay no more than 30% of their income toward rent. A HUD program administered by a local housing authority--Marin Housing Authority in this case--the PBV subsidizes the remaining rent, if any, on that unit or for that household.
The PBV program is a component of the Housing Act of 1937, and is sometimes referred to as Section 8, for the section of the act that established the program.
Policymakers and advocates call housing “affordable” when a household pays no more than 30% of its total income for housing costs. In the Bay Area, low- and moderate-income people can have a very difficult time finding housing that passes this test. That’s why private, non-profit developers like Resources for Community Development (RCD) work closely with local governments, funders, faith based groups, and other community organizations to create and preserve housing for people at these income levels. Affordable housing is different from public housing in that public housing is owned by public entities, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and local housing authorities.
How is affordable housing created?
Affordable housing is developed by private developers, mostly non-profits like RCD, of which many are local community or faith-based organizations. RCD assembles a combination of private funding and government subsidies, which, with future rental income, ensures full funding for each project from design and construction through operations. RCD also selects an architectural and construction team, with specialized sub-consultants, to work closely with the community to design the best possible housing development.
For how long will these units be affordable?
A 55-year affordability restriction will be put in place. This is a funder requirement particular to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. To require perpetual affordability would mean potential tax credit investors would not allow there to be county or state “soft debt,” which are critical pieces of the financing plan.
Please note, however, that RCD is a non-profit with a mission to provide affordable housing to people with the fewest options. We are not and have never been interested in converting our properties to market-rate or selling our properties to market-rate developers. Please be assured that we plan and expect Victory Village to remain affordable in perpetuity and beyond the 55-year period.
What are Project-Based Vouchers?
The Project-Based Vouchers (PBV) program is a rental subsidy that is awarded to a particular property or to an individual household wherever they live. It allows qualifying residents to pay no more than 30% of their income toward rent. A HUD program administered by a local housing authority--Marin Housing Authority in this case--the PBV subsidizes the remaining rent, if any, on that unit or for that household.
The PBV program is a component of the Housing Act of 1937, and is sometimes referred to as Section 8, for the section of the act that established the program.