Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has approved more than $167 million of investments since the beginning of the year to keep nearly 2,300 homes affordable for 60 more years rather than risk rents increasing to market rate.
According to OHCS, these dwellings mainly consist of apartment units and manufactured houses.
Preserving affordable housing refers to the efforts at maintaining housing that is affordable for individuals and families with lower incomes. When affordable housing is built, the state and owner enter into a regulatory agreement that establishes how long that housing is to remain affordable.
This initial period of affordability -- where rents are lower than in the open market -- is ordinarily 30 to 60 years in Oregon. As affordable housing complexes start to reach the end of their required affordability period, OHCS and its partners work to retain the affordable restrictions for these homes.
The OHCS awards are administered through several preservation funding programs leveraging state and federal funds. Officials said addressing this issue plays a critical role in promoting social and economic stability in communities.
Royal Oaks Mobile Manor in Medford received $11.4 million from the program to keep 118 residences affordable. Valley Pines in Medford received $4.2 million to keep 120 homes affordable while Anderson Vista in Talent got $2.5 million to protect the affordability of 36 dwellings.
