We are committed to racial and social equity. Please contact the Office of Housing if you would like any of our resources translated or printed.

• 2022 Housing Affordability Quick Facts
• 2022 Report on Impact of Affordable Housing on Nearby Residential Property Values
• 2022 The Fair Housing Testing Program: From 1990 to Today
• 2021 Market Affordable Housing Update (2018 Update; 2017 Update; 2016 Update)
• 2018 Micro-units Research Findings
• 2017 The City's Homeownership Programs: From the 1970s to Today
• 2016 The Housing Trust Fund: From the 1980s to Today   
• 2016 The Affordable Set-Aside Program: From the 1990s to Today

• Pendleton Street Boarding House Environmental Review
• Samuel Madden Environmental Assessment
• Square at 511 Environmental Review
• Sansé/Naja Environmental Assessment
• Seminary Townhouses Environmental Assessment
• Parc View Elevator Rehabilitation Environmental Review Record
• 5-Year Environmental Review and Project Description
• The Waypoint

The Five-Year Consolidated Plan, Annual Action Plans, and Assessment Reports for housing and community development are provided to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a condition of receipt of funding of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships programs.

• Citizen Participation Plan for Housing and Community Development Activities 
• FY 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan
  • Amendments to the FY 2022-2026 Consolidated Plan
  • FY 2025 Annual Action Plan
    • FY 2025 Annual Action Plan Presentation
  • FY 2024 Annual Action Plan
    • FY 2024 Annual Action Plan Presentation
  •  Draft Fiscal Year 2024 CAPER
• HOME-ARP Allocation Plan

• City Academy Spring 2024 Presentation (updated March 20, 2024)
• Housing Needs: Zoning for Housing Spring 2023 
• 2020 Alexandria Housing Summit 

Affordable housing: Rental or ownership housing costing no more than approximately 30% of a household’s gross monthly income before taxes. Affordable housing helps Alexandria families, workers, and seniors meet their housing needs without sacrificing other priorities, such as food, healthcare, childcare, and education. Affordable housing is also important to the city’s economic vitality and competitiveness. Businesses look for a diverse and stable local workforce when deciding to locate, retain, and expand their operations in the city. 

Area Median Income (AMI): Income levels that are established annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for households of various sizes, where half of the households in the region earn more and half earn less. In 2024, the area median income for a household of four for the Washington, DC Metropolitan Statistical Area is $154,700. The 2024 AMIs by household size, along with associated maximum rents, are available online. 

Committed Affordable Units (CAUs): Housing units that are available to income-eligible households through rent and/or occupancy restrictions imposed as a condition of assistance under federal, state and/or local programs. Targeted income levels vary by program.

• Committed affordable rental units serve households with incomes up to 60% AMI.
• Workforce committed affordable rental units serve households earning between 61% and 80% AMI.
• Committed affordable homeownership units typically serve households with incomes between 70% and 100% AMI. Learn more about the City’s Homeownership Program.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): The City of Alexandria receives Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding annually from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). CDBG funds are used to address needs such as equal access to housing, preventing and ending homelessness, and maintaining housing stability for low-income renters.  

Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME): The US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) provides Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding to support housing activities. HOME funds require a 25% match from local dollars. The City primarily uses HOME funds to help finance new affordable rental and ownership housing.

Housing Choice Vouchers: The housing choice voucher (HCV) program is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford housing in the private market. HCV holders pay 30% of their income toward the rent, and the HCV pays the difference up to an established fair market rent, including utility costs. In the City, HCVs are administered by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA).

US Department of Housing & Urban Development: The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds a variety of housing programs in the city. HUD funding supports the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) and the City's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) activities.

Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC): The LIHTC program serves as the primary source of equity funding for the preservation and creation of committed affordable rental housing in the United States. Created through the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the program is sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service. The level of affordability required by the LIHTC program depends on whether a tax credit allocation is provided through a competitive (9% tax credit) or non-competitive (4% tax credit and tax-exempt bond) process. The tax credit allocation process is administered by Virginia Housing consistent with the approved Qualified Action Plan (QAP). Learn more about the LIHTC application process and QAP.

Rental units funded through LIHTC primarily serve households with incomes up to 50% and 60% of area median income (AMI). However, recent changes to the program have enabled affordable housing developers to provide some units at deeper levels of affordability (40% AMI) through a process referred to as income averaging; income averaging allows developers to provide units at up to 80% AMI to offset the costs associated with providing units at deeper levels of affordability. 

LIHTC units have rent restrictions that correspond to the income levels (see the 2024 Income and Rent Limits). For example, the rent for a unit designed to be affordable at 60% AMI is equal to 30% of the calculated 60% AMI (adjusted for utilities).

Market Affordable Units: Non-subsidized rental units affordable to households earning 60% AMI. Rents at these units are not restricted and may cease to be affordable at any time. Market-affordable units preserve diversity and provide housing opportunities to younger families, new residents, and recent graduates, as well as to longtime Alexandrians. They enable workers critical to our economy across numerous industries and sectors (such as education, public health and safety, construction, custodial services, and restaurant and retail) to live affordably in the City. Learn more about the City’s Market Affordable housing.

Project Based Vouchers: Funded by the federal government, project-based vouchers (PBVs) are a critical source of deeply affordable housing in the City. Residents pay 30% of their income toward the rent, and the PBV pays the difference up to an established fair market rent, and potentially, some utility costs. PBVs operate similarly to Housing Choice Vouchers, but are tied to a specific property rather than a household. PBV contracts typically have 20-year term of affordability with varying options to renew or extend. In the City, some PBVs are administered by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) while others are administered through Housing Assistance Program (HAP) contracts managed directly by HUD or other funding agencies.

Public Housing: Owned and operated by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA), public housing units are a vital source of housing for the city's poorest residents. Residents of public housing pay no more than $50 or 30% of their income (whichever is higher) in rent. The federal government provides subsidies to make up any difference between the rent paid and the cost to operate and maintain the units.

Public housing is a form of committed affordable housing, but not all committed affordable housing is public housing.