How prevalent are inclusionary housing programs in the United States? What are the program design patterns? And what is the scale of production for these programs? Building on our earlier work, Grounded Solutions Network embarked on a large-scale data collection effort between 2018 and 2019 to study inclusionary housing programs in local jurisdictions. The study yielded this report.
This Resource at a Glance
-
11 File
Key take-aways
- At the end of 2019, there were 1,019 inclusionary housing programs located in 31 states and the District of Columbia.
- Inclusionary housing programs are an increasingly prevalent tool for producing affordable housing.
- There are two-and-a-half times as many mandatory programs as voluntary programs.
- Local inclusionary housing programs are ensuring long-term affordability.
More cities are considering adopting inclusionary housing policies to reduce affordable housing shortages and foster inclusive communities. However, too little is known about the characteristics and trends of this affordable-housing tool. Consequently, policymakers, city staff and stakeholders are at risk of reinventing the wheel as they design, modify, and implement inclusionary housing policies.
A national survey, conducted between 2018 and 2019 by Grounded Solutions Network, addresses some gaps in knowledge on inclusionary housing policies. This survey was the most comprehensive investigation of inclusionary housing in the United States to date. It identified 1,019 inclusionary housing programs located in 31 states and the District of Columbia at the end of 2019.
A subset of 258 programs provided detailed information about outcomes. These programs report creating a total of about 110,000 affordable units, including 70,000 affordable rental units, 31,000 for-sale units, and 9,000 units with tenure unknown. In addition, 123 of the programs surveyed tracked and reported fees collected through their inclusionary housing programs (including linkage/impact fee programs). In total, this subset of inclusionary programs has collected at least $1.76 billion in fees.
This collection of resources includes:
- A 52-page report summarizing the prevalence, practice, and production of inclusionary housing programs
- A Shelterforce article describing characteristics of over 1,000 inclusionary housing programs across the country and provides insight into which are the most successful and why.
- A webpage with a link to the mapping tool visualizing inclusionary housing programs as well as state-level information that is related to the adoption of local inclusionary housing programs. It also allows people to download the database used in the study
- An executive summary of this report published by Fannie Mae
- A 61-page working paper from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy showcasing Grounded Solutions’ previous 2016 effort in surveying inclusionary housing programs
- An 8-page policy highlight report by Grounded Solutions Network summarizing and visualizing the results of the previous 2016 nationwide survey
For more information and resources related to Inclusionary Housing visit our website InclusionaryHousing.org.
Downloads
- Inclusionary Housing: Secrets to Success (Shelterforce) (external link)
- Inclusionary Housing Map & Program Database (external link)
- 2017 Working Paper: Inclusionary Housing in the United States: Prevalence, Impact, and Practices (external link)
- An executive summary of the 2020 inclusionary housing report published by Fannie Mae (external link)
- Academic journal article (open access): Inclusionary housing in the United States: dynamics of local policy and outcomes in diverse markets (Journal of Housing Studies) (external link)
