An Assessment of the Need for Large Units in the District of Columbia

Though the District of Columbia has a substantial supply of large housing units with three or more bedrooms, those units are not meeting the needs of families with low incomes. Most large units are single-family houses, few of which are affordable. There are only limited affordable large rental unit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2019
Main Authors: Tatian, Peter A, Hendey, Leah, Bruton, Scott
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Housing
Urban Institute
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Though the District of Columbia has a substantial supply of large housing units with three or more bedrooms, those units are not meeting the needs of families with low incomes. Most large units are single-family houses, few of which are affordable. There are only limited affordable large rental units in many areas of the city and the supply of affordable large rental units is decreasing. The District should set targets for the production and preservation of affordable large units, plan for future growth in large renter households with low incomes, and consider a range of tools and policies that will produce and preserve large units including additional subsidies to equalize rent per square foot of large units with smaller ones, incent production and preservation through the Consolidated RFP, and increased density bonuses in exchange for affordable large units.