Glossary

Affordable housing
This is housing for ownership or rent that the government restricts by deed or by maximum rent level to remain affordable over the long term to households earning below a certain income level. These units are available only to households that earn below a certain figure of the Area Median Income (AMI). For ownership units, the maximum allowable earnings are usually 80% of AMI while for rental, the maximum earnings range from 30% AMI to 50% AMI up to 80% AMI. For a searchable list of available affordable homeownership opportunities anywhere in MA, go to www.massaffordablehomes.org. For a list of available affordable rental opportunities, go to www.chapa.org

Area Median Income (AMI)
This is a figure established by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development agency (HUD). Half the incomes in the area are above this amount, and half below. HUD uses the median income for families in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas to calculate income limits for eligibility in a variety of housing programs. HUD estimates the median family income for an area in the current year and adjusts that amount for different household sizes so that household incomes may be expressed as a percentage of the area median income. For example, a household's income may equal 80 percent of the area median income, a common maximum income level for participation in HUD programs. HUD defines 80% AMI as low income, 50% AMI as very low income, and 30% AMI as extremely low income.

Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit
"40B" is a state law that has led to the development of much of the new affordable housing in recent years. If less than 10% of a town's housing stock is affordable (according to state guidelines), developers can apply for a "comprehensive permit" under the 40B statute to circumvent existing zoning regulations, typically by building more houses or apartments per acre than would be allowed otherwise. The developers must make at least 25% of the new units affordable to people below 80% AMI for the region (as defined by the federal government). For example, in an area where developers can only build one single family home per acre, a developer can use a comprehensive permit to build a 12-unit ownership building with three units available at an affordable price. Towns that do not have the state mandated 10% of affordable housing available to households below 80% AMI primarily use 40B. Worcester and Boston generally do not use 40B because more than 10% of their housing is already affordable to households below 80% of AMI. For more information, go to www.40bfacts.org

More >