City Policy
Current city-level policies in Seattle include MHA, IZ, Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE), and city assistance through the Office of Housing Investment Fund and Housing Levy. Collectively, city-level programs (not including federal programs like the Low-Income Tax Credit (LIHTC) or Section 8 vouchers) contribute to the production of 2,000-3,000 units each year.
How are current programs and policies falling short?
As both housing prices and population increase, the city’s housing stock has failed to meet the population's needs in multiple ways. Current issues include:
-
Low Quantity: Only 8.6% of Seattle’s housing stock is ‘social housing,’ including city-funded units and non-profit organizations. This is in comparison to the about 137 thousand households in Seattle that make less than 80% average median income.
​
​
-
Limited Affordable Ownership Options: City funding focuses primarily on increasing affordable rental options. For example, the Seattle Office of Housing investment fund spent $115.9 million towards rentals versus only $2.28 million going to increase affordable home ownership. This limits people’s ability to choose what type of housing is optimal for their families and their future. Our housing model, as detailed in this report, will advocate for an ownership model to foster economic opportunity and security and empower all residents in Seattle.
​
​
​
-
Limited Larger Units: Existing affordable housing is made up primarily of studios and 1-bedroom units. This creates a city that is implicitly built for childless, working adults, in contrast with the city’s stated values of community and economic opportunity.​
​
​
​
​
-
Quality: The majority of affordable housing units experience one or more housing problems, such as a cost-burdened household, overcrowding, or lack of complete plumbing or kitchen facilities. In Seattle, over 70 percent of households at or less than 80% AMI experience at least one housing problem
-
HUD defines the four housing problems as:
-
-
(1) the household is cost burdened
-
(2) lives in a home without complete kitchen facilities
-
(3) lives in a home that lacks complete plumbing facilities, or
-
(4) is overcrowded
-
In addition, â…• of all renter households in Seattle are considered severely cost-burdened, which indicates that these households are paying at or over 50% of their income on housing costs alone. We have seen an overall increase in the rates of single-family detached homes throughout Seattle, which has furthered the difficulty for low-income communities to engage in homeownership.
​
​
-
Location: Current city programs limit affordable housing units to Urban Centers and Villages, with little distribution of housing options elsewhere in the city. However, these zones make up only about 10 percent of Seattle’s land area, limiting housing choice for those seeking these housing options. This creates economic exclusion and translates into racial segregation.
