Housing GSO: HRA Greensboro Affordable Housing Plan

AFFORDABLE HOUSING GLOSSARY

Cost-Burdened: Under a standard set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a household is considered cost-burdened when it spends 30% or more of its income on gross housing costs, whether for renter or ownership housing.

Extremely Cost-Burdened : A household is considered extremely cost-burdened households when it spends 50% or more of its income on housing costs, often leaving the household with very little money to cover other costs of daily living.

Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ): ETJs are areas that lie just outside municipalities’ corporate limits where future municipal development is expected to reach. Depending on the relevant municipality’s size, they can extend 1 to 3 miles beyond corporate limits. Areas within ETJs are subject to the municipality’s development regulations.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR): The relationship between a building’s total amount of usable floor area and the total area of the lot on which the building stands. This ratio is determined by dividing the total, or gross, floor area of the building by the gross area of the lot.

HOME Investment Partnership (HOME): The HOME program, authorized by the federal government in 1990, gives federal block grants to participating local jurisdictions, which then use the funds to provide affordable rental and homeownership housing to low- and moderate-income families. When HOME funds are used to support rental housing, at least 90% of the units must be occupied by households with incomes at or below 60% of AMI, with the remaining 10% capable of being occupied by households with incomes at or below 80% of AMI. In rental properties with five or more HOME units, 20% of the units must be set aside for households with incomes at or below 50% of AMI. Depending on the amount of HOME subsidy provided per unit, the HOME program places affordability restrictions of 5 to 20 years on units. HUD-Insured Properties: HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) provides mortgage subsidies to private owners of multifamily housing to reduce development costs. In return, HUD requires assisted properties to agree to low-income “use restrictions,” which restrict occupancy to households under specific income limits and cap rent levels. Properties that fall under this category include Section 221(d)(3) BMIR, Section 236, and other non-subsidized HUD insured properties.

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