"Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap" is a report on the status of dedicated local revenue sources for affordable housing production and preservation in the Washington, D.C. region. It provides guidance to area jurisdictions that have yet to implement a dedicated local revenue source. This report describes dedicated revenue sources that already exist and forecasts what type and size of dedicated revenue sources make sense for each jurisdiction. Nearly all new affordable housing for lower income households across the country is created through partnerships between government funding agencies and private for- and non-profit developers. The public funding role is crucial because constructing housing is almost always not financially feasible at the rents or mortgage payments that lower income households can afford to pay, especially in areas with high housing costs like the Washington, D.C., region. Legal restrictions that accompany this public investment ensure that this housing will remain affordable to lower income families for varying amounts of time.
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Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) policies require new and/or rehabilitated residential developments to include housing units affordable to low and moderate-income residents. In exchange, developers may receive non-monetary compensation—in the form of density bonuses—that reduce construction costs.
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