Montgomery County Preserved and Produced More than 6,300 Units of Affordable Housing in Fiscal Year 2020

Montgomery County’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs committed $58.9 million in Fiscal Year 2020 to reduce the housing cost burden of residents through a range of strategies that preserved and produced a significant amount of affordable housing. The County made the commitments in addition to leveraging $18.2 million of Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) for affordable housing.

The County supported 6,367 affordable housing units through financing to establish long-term affordability, rental assistance to maintain affordability, support for home purchasing and maintenance and MPDU (moderately priced dwelling units) requirements.

“I am pleased that the County’s Department of Housing and Community Affairs helped preserve and produce affordable housing units for residents of all ages and abilities,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “We have used a variety of effective strategies to help residents of low and moderate income afford a home. Affordable housing continues to be on the top of my priority list and it is critical that we continue to leverage County resources to preserve, maintain and expand our affordable housing stock. I look forward to continuing this important effort.”

A breakdown of FY20 affordable housing preservation and production includes:

• Low or no-interest loans: The County committed $34,461,788 in low- or no-interest loans from the Housing Initiative Fund (HIF) to preserve 329 units and produce 202 units of long-term affordable rental housing for individuals, families, seniors and persons with special needs.
• Rental assistance: The County committed $20,358,930 in rental assistance for 5,325 affordable housing units. This included rental assistance for persons with very low income, persons with special needs and persons exiting homelessness.
• Homeownership assistance:
• The County provided $2,976,268 in down payment assistance to 190 first-time homebuyers with modest incomes.
• The County provided $1,077,401 in grants for weatherization to 242 homeowners with low to modest incomes to preserve utility affordability.
• Moderately priced dwelling units (MPDU's): In new housing developments, 79 MPDUs were produced according to County requirements, without commitment of County funds.

Affordable units provide rent that is affordable to people with income up to 70 percent of Washington Metro Area Median Income (AMI), which was $126,000 for a family of four in 2020, As an example, affordable units serving those with incomes up to 70 percent AMI were limited to households with a maximum annual income of $70,560 for a family of two. However, most units supported provide affordability for households with income of 30 percent AMI ($30,250 for a family of two) to 60 percent of AMI ($60,480 for a family of two).