Subsidy

Create and sustain long-term funding sources to create and preserve housing for very low-income households and unhoused residents

The private market cannot provide housing for all residents. Income restricted units, subsidized by federal, state, and local funding and incentives that ensure long-term rent or income restrictions, provide affordable housing that the private market cannot.

To fully address affordability needs, the region must meet the housing needs of households making less than 30 percent of the area median income. Providing housing solutions for the lowest income households will cause a chain reaction, freeing up more moderately priced housing units that are more affordable for households at higher income thresholds. The Subsidy strategies call for identifying existing and new funding sources from a variety of housing stakeholders.

Subsidy strategies include:

Identify public, private, and philanthropic funding to increase affordable housing and access to housing for lower-income families

• Advocate for substantial federal and state funding to address affordability for very low-income households.
• Encourage major employers to finance affordable housing construction and preservation to provide opportunities for employees to live closer to where they work.
• Expand local funding options and how they are used across the region such as local housing levies.