HOME Affordability Period

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HOME-assisted rental units carry rent and occupancy restrictions for varying lengths of time, known as the affordability period. The Template requires data on the affordability period to calculate rents for HOME-assisted units.

The HOME Program requires a minimum affordability period for all rental projects receiving HOME funds, depending on the average amount of HOME funds invested in each unit and the type of activities performed using HOME funds. The chart below shows how the activity and per-unit subsidy determine the HOME required affordability period.

HOME Required Affordability Period

ACTIVITY	AVERAGE PER-UNIT HOME	MINIMUM AFFORDABILITY PERIOD
Rehabilitation or Acquisition of Existing Housing	<$15,000 15,000- $40,000 >$40,000	5 years 10 years 15 years
Refinance of Rehabilitation Project	Any dollar amount	15 years
New Construction or Acquisition of New Housing	Any dollar amount	20 years

The Template will automatically calculate the HOME required affordability period, based on your selections on two drop down menus: HOME-Eligible Rental Activity and Average Per-Unit HOME Subsidy. Users experiencing difficulty with the dropdown menus can determine the HOME required affordability period using the chart above and enter the number directly into the HOME Required Affordability Period field (cell E32).

Note that HOME affordability periods are minimum requirements, and participating jurisdictions (PJs) may establish longer terms of affordability for their programs. For this reason, the Template provides the HOME required affordability period for advisory purposes only. Enter the PJ's Required Affordability Period in years. The PJ's required affordability period will be used on the Operating Pro-Forma tab of the Template to determine how long HOME-assisted units will remain affordable. AFTER THIS AFFORDABILITY PERIOD EXPIRES, THE HOME-ASSISTED UNITS WILL CHARGE MARKET RATE RENTS. Note that the PJ's required affordability period must be filled in for the Template to work.

The row titled PJ's Affordability Period in Compliance with HOME Program? checks whether the PJ's affordability period meets the HOME Program's minimum affordability period. Once you have entered the relevant data, the cell to the right will read "yes" or "no," depending on whether the PJ's affordability period is in compliance.

Projects can minimize the affordability period by reducing the amount of HOME assistance or designating a higher number of HOME-assisted units than required to reduce the HOME investment per unit.