Affordable housing

Terminology explanations

Affordable housing

Alt-right

Double dipping

Evidence-based medicine

Gun control

Homesharing

Illegal alien

Millionaire's tax

Political correctness

Ridesharing

Safe space

Sharing economy

Trigger warning

Unconstitutional racial gerrymandering

War on Terror

The phrase affordable housing is used in at least three senses:

1) The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines affordable housing as "housing for which the occupant(s) is/are paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income for gross housing costs, including utilities." HUD adds that "some jurisdictions may define affordable housing based on other, locally determined criteria, and that this definition is intended solely as an approximate guideline or general rule of thumb."

2) Affordable housing is commonly used to refer to housing prices that allow individuals with low incomes to rent or purchase housing according to the rates described by HUD or some other criteria for determining affordability. The criteria for low income will vary among different jurisdictions. The federal government defines low-income as having a household income of less than 80 percent of that area's median income. In contrast, some state or local laws may define low income in relation to the federal poverty level.

3) The term affordable housing is also sometimes used to refer to government programs subsidizing housing for those with lower incomes.

Usage

The phrase affordable housing is most often used in ballot measures and legislation in reference to housing that is affordable for low-income households. Ballotpedia follows this usage.

Unless otherwise specified, the term affordable housing on Ballotpedia means housing that costs no more than 30 percent of the income of households with incomes below the median or is affordable to low-income households according to some other specified definition. Various federal, state, and local laws, ballot measures, and program criteria often have their own specific legal definitions of "affordable housing."

External definitions

The list below includes definitions of affordable housing from other websites:

• The Economic Times: "Affordable housing refers to housing units that are affordable by that section of society whose income is below the median household income."
• Affordable Housing Online: "In the United States, the term affordable housing is used to describe housing, rental or owner-occupied, that is affordable no matter what one's income is. The U.S. government regards housing costs at or below 30% of one's income to be affordable."
• Sacramento Press: "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has defined affordable housing as no more than 30 percent of a household’s income. ... Affordable housing may include subsidized housing projects such as multi-family apartments or single-family homes built or leased through public-private programs."
• Realtor.com: "'Affordable housing' is an umbrella term encompassing a variety of government-subsidized programs for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities, aimed at helping them find places they can afford to live."

See also

• Housing on the ballot
• Local housing on the ballot