Inclusionary Housing
UPDATES:
New! OPEN INCLUSIONARY HOUSING BOARD POSITION
Applications are open for a renter who earns a maximum of 60% of the area median income to serve on the Inclusionary Housing Board. Applications are due by November 6, 2024. The final selection will be made by the Mayor’s Office and subject to confirmation by the City Council. Prior to selection and nomination, applicants will be required to provide verification of income, and a background check.
The final selection will be made by the Mayor’s Office and subject to confirmation by the City Council. Prior to selection and nomination, applicants will be required to provide verification of income, and a background check.
The City’s Inclusionary Housing law requires that certain market rate apartments make 10% of their units available to households earning 50 and 60% of the area median income. The Law also requires establishing an Inclusionary Housing Board that provides guidance to the Department as it implements the City’s Inclusionary Housing requirements.
The Board includes 10 members. 4 are appointed by the mayor, 3 are appointed by the council president and 3 are agency heads.
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Overview of the Inclusionary Housing Law
Ordinance 24-308, Inclusionary Housing for Baltimore City became operational on July 21, 2024. The law applies to market rental projects that submit a building permit application on or after July 21, 2024 must submit an Inclusionary Housing Plan for a determination whether Inclusionary Units apply. A copy of the Plan can be found HERE. Additional information can also be found in the Inclusionary Housing Plan section,
Projects that meet the following criteria will be required to make 10% of their units available as Inclusionary Units for a 30-year period. 5% of the Inclusionary Units are required to be available to households earning 50% of the area median income and 5% of the units are required to be available to households earning 60% of the area median income. Income limits can be found here: STATE OF MD 2024 Household Income Limits .
Inclusionary Housing tenants pay the maximum affordable rent as established by HUD. The difference between market rate and affordable rent is covered by the High Performance Inclusionary Housing Tax Credit which is administered by the City’s Finance Department and can be found HERE.
AT THIS TIME, DHCD HAS NOT APPROVED ANY INCLUSIONARY HOUSING PLANS OR BUILDING PERMITS FOR PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MAKE INCLUSIONARY UNITS AVAILABLE. Please check back for project information.
Inclusionary housing requirements apply to units that:
- Include 20 or more units
AND
- Receive a major public subsidy OR Benefit from Significant land use authorization
AND
- Are newly constructed, substantial rehab or converted from a non-residential housing use
AND
- the cost of construction or conversion exceeds $60,000 per unit.
A copy of the Law can be found here: Art 13 - Housing and Urban Development
INCLUSIONARY HOUSING BOARD
The Law establishes a 10-member Inclusionary Housing Board that is comprised of the following members:
Four members appointed by the Mayor:
- lender or investor with experience in multi-family projects and public financing
- experience in housing, community development, planning & social services
- a for-profit developer with experience in public financing
- a tenant at 60% of the area median income.
Three members appointed by the Council President:
- for-profit multi-family developer that uses public financing, subsidies, or tax credits
- a nonprofit affordable housing developer
- a renter earning an income at or below 60% AMI.
Three agency heads:
- Housing Commissioner or their designee
- Director of Planning or their designee
- Director of the Office Equity and Civil Rights
The Board is responsible for the following activities:
- Reviewing and providing comments to Rules and Regulations
- Reviewing and providing comments to Inclusionary Housing Plans
- Reviewing the Housing Department’s Annual Inclusionary Housing report
- Providing other guidance as needed.
All board members are subject to confirmation by the City Council.
INCLUSIONARY HOUSING PLAN
Multi-family rental projects that are 20 or more units are required to submit an Inclusionary Housing Plan when a building permit application is submitted.
The Plan provides general project information, confirmation of the law’s requirements including anticipated or pending tax credits and subsidies, a description of the project, potential Inclusionary Units, and market and affordable rent.
One of Inclusionary Housing’s goals is to make units available to residents to who would not normally be aware of the units. The Affirmative Marketing Plan describes how units will be advertised to reach potential tenants, tenant selection criteria and how the project meets required Fair Housing requirements.
PRIOR UPDATES
Updated Inclusionary Housing Plan and Pre-development forms
The Inclusionary Housing Plan originally published in July has been updated.
An updated Inclusionary Housing Plan can be found HERE. Changes include adding a section on tax credit/affordable housing, an updated Affirmative Marketing Plan, and clarification of subsidies and tax credits.
The Inclusionary Housing Plan must be completed and submitted to inclusionaryhousingsubmission@baltimorecity.gov when an application for a building permit is submitted.
The Plan will continue to be updated. You are encouraged to sign up for Inclusionary Housing updates to remain up to date.
Pre-Development Form
In order to anticipate potential Inclusionary Units that may become available, developers are required to complete the Pre-Development Information form that can be found HERE. This form will be included in discussions with the Planning Department at their required pre-development meeting and will be used to DHCD to identify a pipeline of potential inclusionary units. The Pre-Development form is for informational purposes; Inclusionary Housing Plans are also required.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
DHCD is committed to an open and transparent process and to providing opportunities for public review and comment. This section describes opportunities for public review and comment.
Public Comment Period
Rules and Regulations
The Law requires that DHCD adopt rules and regulations that define terms used in the law, describes how units will be operated and rented and generally helps to clarify the Law.
The proposed regulations:
1. Define terms used in the Inclusionary Housing law;
2. Specify to what developments the Inclusionary Housing rules will apply;
3. Establish standards for the number of Inclusionary Housing units required;
4. Establish design and pricing standards for Inclusionary Housing units;
5. Establish standards for Inclusionary Housing Plan development, submission, modification, and approval;
6. Establish standards for determining and reporting Inclusionary Housing tenant eligibility;
7. Establish standards for tenant selection and lease requirements; and
8. Establish reporting requirements for developers and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
On August 15th DHCD posted draft rules and regulations for a 30-day public comment period that ended on September 15, 2024. THIS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD HAS ENDED. DHCD IS NOT ACCEPTING ADDITIONAL COMMENTS TO THE DRAFT RULES AND REGULATIONS.
Staff is reviewing all comments that were received and will post a summary of all of the comments as well as the comments on DHCD’s website.
Following this review, the Housing Commissioner will advise whether DHCD will adopt the rules and regulations as they were published or will amend the rules and regulations and publish them for a second public comment period. The rules and regulations will remain in draft form until they are adopted by the Department. The Program Manual will also remain in draft form until the rules and regulations are adopted.
DHCD will provide an updated notice on its website when the rules and regulations are adopted.
DHCD also held a 30-day public comment period for its Inclusionary Housing Draft Program Guidelines that are described below. The comment period was held from August 15-September 15. Comments are under review and will be posted on DHCD’s website. THIS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD HAS ENDED. DHCD IS NOT ACCEPTING ADDITIONAL COMMENTS TO THE DRAFT RULES AND REGULATIONS.
Proposed Inclusionary Housing Program Guidelines
The Inclusionary Housing Program Guidelines provide additional details, resources and technical assistance to help developers be successful in meeting their Inclusionary Housing obligations. A copy of the Program Guidelines can be found HERE. The guidelines will be updated as needed.