Inclusionary Housing
Policy and Ordinance
FAQs
City of Riverside
What is Inclusionary Housing?
Inclusionary housing is a policy that requires a
prescribed portion of the homes in any new
residential projects (such as apartment buildings or
housing subdivisions) be rented or sold at a price that is affordable to households and families earning
specific income.
Why is an Inclusionary Housing Policy
needed?
An inclusionary housing policy helps increase the
number of affordable homes throughou t the City.
Increasing the number of affordable homes will
promote equity in the City by providing opportunities
for families of all income levels to be able to afford to live in Riverside. Inclusionary housing is just one of
several tools available to cit ies to promote and
support the development of more affordable homes.
Are there any exemptions to the Policy?
Yes. Residential development projects resulting in the
construction of one (1) or two (2) housing units and
residential subdivisions resulting in two (2) lots.
What does affordable housing mean?
Generally, affordable means that a household will
not spend more than 30% of their gross income on
monthly housing costs including rents, utilities and
other fixed costs. For example, a household with an
income of $60,000 should spen d no more than
$20,000 per year for housing costs (or $1,667/month).
What are affordable rents or sale prices?
Affordable rents and sale prices are calculated
based on different categories of household income
as defined by the State and Federal governments.
The categories include Very Low Income, Low
Income, and Moderate Income , which refer certain
percentages of the Area Median Income (AMI) for
households in each county, updated annually.
Is there a minimum term of affordability for the
Inclusionary Housing units?
The affordability Term varies based on the type of
unit. For example:
• Rental units: 55 years
• For-sale units: 45 years, repayment if sold to
non-income eligible homebuyer
• 99-year lease on Housing Authority -owned
properties
What percentage of new housing project units
must be available as affordable units?
This varies depending if the units are for rent or for sale and if they are built on- or off-site.
For on-site:
• For-sale single family developme nts - 5% of
units affordable to Moderate -Income
households
• For-sale townhome and condominium
developments - 10% of units affordable to
Low-Income households
• Rental developments - 10% of units affordable
to Low-Income households
For off-site, the percentage is increased as follows:
• For-sale single family developments - 8% of
units affordable to Moderate -Income
households
• For-sale townhome and condominium
developments - 15% of units affordable to
Low-Income households
• Rental developments - 15% of units affordable
to Low-Income households
Where will off-site units be built?
Any units not built on-site must be built within the Ward at the higher off-site percentage.
Are there alternatives to providing the
Inclusionary Housing Units?
An in-lieu fee that can be paid if the units are not built is included in the Inclusionary Housing Policy and
Ordinance. The fee would be paid fo r all or a portion
of the inclusionary housing requirement s. The In- lieu fees are based on the percentage of affordable units
required if the inclusionary units were provided outside the boundaries (a higher percentage than if they
were built). The in-lieu fee would a lso be required for any fractional units required for multifamily and
townhome projects.
Where can I get more information or share
comments on the Inclusionary Housing
Ordinance?
You can contact the City of Riverside Housing
Authority: (951) 826-5649 ([email protected]).
You may also contact the City Planning Division: (951)
826-5800 ([email protected]).
Attachment 9