If you need help determining if you qualify for a project or program, please check out the FAQS in the Help Center on Doorway Bay Area Affordable Housing Portal.
Project Income and Rent Limits Used by Developers/Owners
Each year, various Federal and State agencies publish data on the median income by area throughout the Country. Alameda County uses this information for many of its affordable housing programs, requiring our partners to verify the incomes of tenant households living in assisted properties. Alameda County HCD compiles the income and rent limits for our portfolio of affordable housing projects each year. These are the Current Income and Rent Limits used by our projects. To determine which income and rent limits to use property Owners should always reference the project’s Alameda County HCD Regulatory Agreement.
Housing and Urban Development
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
sets income limits that determine eligibility for assisted housing programs including the Public Housing, Section 8 project-based, Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, Section 202 housing for the elderly, and Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities programs. HUD develops income limits based on Median Family Income estimates and Fair Market Rent area definitions for each metropolitan area, parts of some metropolitan areas, and each non-metropolitan county.
HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is pleased to announce that Fair Market Rents and Income Limits data are now available via an application programming interface (API). With this API, developers can easily access and customize Fair Market Rents and Income Limits data for use in existing applications or to create new applications.
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC)
The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) administers the low income housing tax credit program to encourage private investment in affordable rental housing for households meeting certain income requirements. Credits are available for new construction projects or existing properties undergoing rehabilitation.
Two types of federal tax credits are available and are generally referred to as nine percent (9%) and four percent (4%) credits. Each number refers to the approximate percentage that is multiplied against a project’s requested “qualified basis” to determine the amount of annual federal credits CTCAC will award the project.
CTCAC income and rent limits are available at CTCAC Compliance Monitoring in the Rent and Income Limits section.
State California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)
California HCD releases income limits each year accessible at State and Federal Income, Rent, and Loan/Value Limits: Income limits, rents, and loan-to-value limits are determined according to each development’s financing and the rules that pertain to that financing.