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What is ‘affordable’ housing in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles Oct 02, 2023
| Image courtesy of the Los Angeles Housing Department
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As skyrocketing rents fuel an exploding homelessness crisis, “affordable housing” is a mantra-like phrase nowadays in the language of municipal politics throughout California. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Housing Department explained what, exactly, that means for Angelenos and city officials.
“We don’t have a specific defined dollar amount that is considered ‘affordable’ rent in the City of Los Angeles,” Housing department spokeswoman Sharon Sandow said in an email to HeySoCal.com. “Rather, we look at the number of people per household and income, looking at (area median income) for a household.”
Developers who bid for publicly funded projects deemed “affordable housing” in LA are bound by legal agreements ensuring that rental rates stay in place for tenants who earn lower AMI percentages.
“A project is considered an affordable housing project if all the proposed units, except any manager units, will be income restricted with a covenant and agreement to that effect,” Sandow said.
The housing department listed 2023 area median income for the LA metropolitan area as $98,200, up 7.79% from 2022’s $91,100. Net AMI, which Sandow said “is adjusted for expenses and taxes to reflect state and federal income tax requirements,” was $92,500, up 5.41% from last year.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes median income limits for the LA metro area annually, which is how the AMI is determined, Sandow explained.
According to the housing department, a household of one with an “extremely low” annual income level of $26,500, or up to 30% of the AMI, would pay no more than $486 monthly for a studio unit in an affordable housing complex.
On the more sizable side of the affordable housing spectrum, a family of eight with a “moderate” annual income of $155,550, or between 81% and 120% of the AMI, would pay a maximum of $3,358 monthly for a seven-bedroom rental.
Other income designations are “very low,” which is between 31% and 50% of the AMI, and “low,” which is between 51% and 80% of the AMI.
Very low-income occupants of a studio unit must pay no more than $809 monthly, and low-income tenants must be charged no more than $1,388 for a three-bedroom unit.
