Sacramento County affordable housing pilot program for low-income residents begins soon
A Sacramento County pilot program to offset housing fees for multi-family and low-income households was approved by the Board of Supervisors earlier this month.
The program, which goes into effect in February, will run for three years to reduce barriers to affordable housing in unincorporated parts of the region, including Arden Arcade and Florin.
“We’re trying to help the affordable housing developers make their project pencil out so they can build it and help provide housing,” County Engineer Claudia Wade said. “Housing in California is so expensive. With affordable housing, because they are deed restricted, they have the guarantee that they will serve a community that has the lower median income.”
An offset fee is a charge an affordable housing lender uses to maintain a savings account associated with a resident’s mortgage. These mortgages are a requirement to maintain ownership over a home. A resident’s offset account takes away the balance in their bank account from their mortgage balance. As a result, this lowers the interest amount, also known as the percent someone is charged on a home loan. Offset fees are used to reduce or waive development costs for housing projects with low income units.
Affordable housing and accessibility remains a prevalent issue for residents of Sacramento County. During the January meeting, the results of a county focus group showed residents expressed a strong need for more affordable housing.
“With housing and accessibility, I hear from so many native Sacramentans that are now priced out of the market,” said supervisor Rosario Rodriguez, who represents District 4. “When you look at home sales, in comparison to four years ago, it has grown exponentially where I can see why people believe they can’t afford a home here.”
In 2024, the California Housing Partnership found more than 50,000 low income renter households in Sacramento County did not have access to affordable housing. Additionally, 83% of extremely low income households said they are paying more than half of their income on housing costs.
These housing projects will be available to residents whose income is a minimum of 30% to a maximum of 80% of the region’s area median income, Wade said. The California Department of Housing and Community Development states that households with an area median income of 50% to 80% is considered lower income, while 30% to 50% is classified as very low income. The area median income in Sacramento County is $88,724, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
This project first launched in April 2024 when county staff proposed to use up to $5 million from the Affordable Housing Incentive General Fund Reserve and up to $5 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Affordable Housing Ordinance programs. These funds, $10 million in total, were put aside for eligible affordable housing projects, the county stated in a news release.
Later in September, the County’s Community Development Department presented the program, where offset fees will solely go to affordable housing projects. The average cost of these fees is estimated at $4 million annually, the county stated in a news release.
