New Approval Deadlines Proposed
The Expanding Housing Affordability policy became effective on July 1, 2022. Projects that were already in the city’s plan review process before July 1, 2022, were allowed a period of time to finish permitting without triggering the new requirements.
On May 22, 2023, Denver City Council voted to extend the approval deadline for development projects subject to a site development plan (SDP) to May of 2024. As that date approaches, Community Planning and Development has submitted to City Council a new proposal to extend approval deadlines one final time to April of 2025. This extension would allow the remaining projects time to get approved with the rules under which they were conceived.
CPD staff presented the proposal to the Land Use, Transportation and Infrrastructure Committee at its meeting Tuesday, April 9. The proposal was approved unanimously and will be considered by the full City Council on May 13.
Watch the April 9 staff presentation
View the current deadlines
Denver Passes Pivotal Measure to Expand Housing Affordability
On June 6, 2022, City Council voted to approve the historic “Expanding Housing Affordability” policy, a joint effort of Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s Department of Community Planning and Development and Department of Housing Stability in collaboration with City Council, residents, businesses, housing developers and others, to increase access to affordable housing across Denver. The city engaged with partners and the broader community for over a year to develop the new policy, which took effect in Denver starting July 1, 2022.
The Expanding Housing Affordability policy complements existing affordable housing programs to ensure that as new homes are built in Denver, new affordable homes are built too – both to rent and to buy. Learn more about the policy below.
Download a two-page summary of the policy > (PDF, 297KB)
Resumen del proyecto de revisión pública > (PDF, 182KB)
Download the Rules and Regulations > (PDF, 2MB)
Policy Overview
The Expanding Housing Affordability policy will create more affordable housing options for our workforce as well as increase funding for Denver’s Affordable Housing Fund. There are three core elements:
- Requiring new residential development of 10 units or more to designate 8% to 12% of the units as affordable, regardless of whether the home is for rent or for sale. In higher-cost areas of the city, such as downtown, developers will need to provide 2% to 3% more affordable units. This will provide much-needed new workforce housing options in Denver.
- To align with state law, which requires alternatives to this requirement, the policy includes an option to pay a fee-in-lieu of the affordable units. This fee ranges from $250,000 to $478,000 depending on the unit type and market area.
- The policy also allows for negotiated and community-driven housing agreements in certain situations.
- Gradually increasing the “linkage fee,” which is a fee on development used to build and preserve affordable housing for people with lower incomes. It is not assessed on development that provides affordable housing. The increase will provide much-needed funding for new homes and will bring Denver more in line with other cities nationally.
- Offering zoning and financial incentives, such as flexible parking requirements, height incentives, and permit fee reductions, to help offset the cost of building affordable units and increase the overall supply of housing.
Project Background
City, state, and federal agencies are helping fund housing development, but it’s not enough to meet our population’s growing housing needs. As housing costs go up, Denver households are increasingly "housing cost burdened," meaning more than a third of their income is going just to housing alone. Today, more than 115,000 Denver households – or 35% – are housing cost burdened. Through the Department of Housing Stability, the city funds the construction of thousands of deeply affordable, income-restricted homes. Additional affordable housing options are needed for people who make too much to qualify for traditionally subsidized housing but not enough to afford the high costs of housing in Denver today.
This need is not unique to Denver. Across the U.S., hundreds of cities have already begun implementing affordable housing requirements. This tool became available to Colorado cities last year with the passage of HB21-1117 in May 2021.
Learn more about the origins of this project >
This policy uses three tools--described below--to increase the supply of affordable housing, create a more inclusive and equitable community, and take advantage of current and planned transit investments. These tools use the private development market to produce and fund affordable housing. As such, they must respond to market demands and remain financially feasible.
To learn more about the city's housing priorities and programs, and for more on market conditions, housing production, and funding, visit Housing an inclusive Denver and the Denver Affordable Housing Dashboard.
Linkage Fee
What it is: A fee paid by all new development to support Denver's affordable housing fund. Residential developments that include affordable housing are exempt from this fee.
What this policy does: Gradually increases the existing fee to reflect market conditions and bring in more funds for affordable housing.
Inclusionary Housing
What it is: A policy that requires new residential development to include affordable units. Due to a change in state law in spring 2021, cities across Colorado now have more flexibility to establish inclusionary policies.
What this policy does: Requires new residential developments of 10 or more units to designate 8% to 12% of the units as affordable, regardless of whether the home is for rent or for sale. In higher-cost areas of the city, such as downtown, developers must provide 2% to 3% more affordable units.
Incentive Zoning
What it is: A policy that provides incentives to projects--such as taller buildings, less parking, lower fees--in exchange for adding affordable housing units. Incentives can also be a part of an inclusionary housing program to offset the cost of providing affordable units.
What this policy does: Created zoning incentives that are applied across the city, with a focus on areas with easy access to public transit.
This policy is intended to complement Denver's existing housing programs, all of which are critical to addressing the spectrum of housing need. To learn more about Denver's housing programs, please visit the Department of Housing Stability's 5-Year Strategic Plan and the Denver Affordable Housing Dashboard.
Housing is considered affordable when a resident or family spends no more than 30 percent of their income on where they live. But as a policy, affordable housing isn’t just about who can pay their rent. It also affects the local workforce and the economy. Below we address common questions about affordable housing and why it matters. We also define common terms related to affordable housing policy so that everyone can participate in this important conversation.
What is affordable housing?
Housing is considered affordable when no more than 30 percent of a person or family’s income covers the rent or mortgage. This leaves money for other necessities like food, healthcare, transportation, education, childcare and savings.
There are two types of affordable housing.
Dedicated affordable housing units - These are usually created through public assistance and public-private partnerships. They are essential for ensuring affordability in neighborhoods where market rents are rising rapidly. They are also well suited to create inclusive communities and provide affordable housing to households with very low incomes. There is commonly a deed restriction or other regulating mechanism that keeps the rent or sale price low and ensures the cost remains affordable over a period of time. This project will focus on increasing the supply of dedicated affordable units.
Naturally occurring affordable units - These are units that may rent or sell at affordable levels, but are not legally required to stay at a certain price and may grow unaffordable over time. These units are commonly provided by the private sector. Examples include older apartments that have not been remodeled or refurbished. These units become less affordable when housing prices increase because there is more demand. Additionally, they can also be redeveloped into more expensive units that are no longer affordable.
Why is affordable housing important?
As housing costs go up, more families in Denver are spending more of their budgets on where they live or finding themselves priced out of neighborhoods. Citywide plans and policy documents reflect this need and call for new tools to create more housing opportunities.
Additionally, when housing is unaffordable, we see the following things happen:
- Individuals and families are forced to leave their homes and neighborhoods
- Pre-existing inequities get worse when low-income individuals or families can’t live in areas with good access to jobs, multi-modal transportation, parks and other amenities.
- Less money flows into the local economy. This is because when a greater portion of people’s incomes goes into housing costs, less money is left over for other types of spending that can support the local economy.
- Economic growth within the region slows as employers cannot find workers who can afford to live close to their jobs.
- Traffic becomes more congested and public infrastructure costs grow as workers live further away from jobs.
What is AMI and why does it matter?
Area Median Income (AMI) is a measure that helps determine whether a person or family is eligible to rent or buy an income-restricted apartment or house. AMI thresholds are adjusted by the number of people in a household and vary by location. This allows income-restricted housing programs to determine eligibility using income levels that make sense for the area.
For example, the average income for a two-person household in Pitkin County in 2021 was $88,400. This would be referred to as 100% AMI in Pitkin County. In Trinidad, Colorado, 100% AMI for the same size household was $56,200.
Instead of thinking about AMI as a table of numbers, it’s important to understand that these categories represent people with jobs working in a range of professions who are supporting a range of household sizes.
Do inclusionary housing policies increase overall housing prices?
Research on the impact of these policies on housing prices and production is mixed. The outcomes depend on what the policy does and on the housing market. Evidence suggests that strong housing markets can make it easier for developers to contribute below-market units or units that more people can afford. When calibrated properly to the market, these policies have not driven up housing costs. Additionally, combining requirements with other incentives such as additional stories, lower fees, and flexible parking requirements can off-set the cost of providing affordable units.
Do inclusionary housing policies slow down housing development?
The pace of housing development depends on numerous factors including population and employment growth, available capital, available land, and developer capacity, among others. An analysis of the permit activity in cities similar to Denver found that permits increase prior to adoption of inclusionary housing policies, decline shortly after adoption, and return to pre-adoption levels typically within one year.
What types of incomes and household types are served by these tools?
Market based tools are best set-up to serve low- to moderate-income individuals and families. For Denver, these are households with incomes between $40,000 and $80,000. These tools are best set up when they complement other programs. Housing for extremely low to very low income households, residents transitioning out of homelessness, and residents with special needs is typically provided by public and nonprofit organizations. That type of housing requires a significant subsidy. In this process, we will further refine the income levels served by these tools.
Does building only market-rate units create more affordability?
Market-rate housing production tends to be associated with higher rental costs in the short run—and lower median rents in the long run. Both market-rate and affordable housing development can contribute to affordability, but subsidized units have a higher and much more immediate impact.
In places with strong housing markets, older market-rate housing becoming more affordable as new units are built happens slowly. It can take decades before those units become affordable for low income households.
Who lives in the units created through inclusionary housing policies?
Inclusionary housing polices tend to target households that earn 60 percent to 120 percent of the area median income. These can be successful in creating workforce housing (the type of housing that is affordable for a range of jobs such as teachers or firefighters) in communities where the cost of living high.
Inclusionary housing is a useful mechanism to give residents the opportunity to stay in their communities and benefit from the amenities and economic opportunities brought by investment. In addition to increasing the amount of affordable housing, these policies can create more mixed-income communities. Research on the effectiveness of inclusionary housing at improving economic opportunity generally finds that these policies increase access to economic opportunities for low income households.
Is inclusionary housing the same as rent control?
Rent control is a cap on rent increases that applies to rental units owned and operated by the private sector. Inclusionary housing takes many forms but generally applies only to a portion of newly built units. It is often at least partially offset by additional stories, fee waivers, and parking reductions. Inclusionary housing also allows rents to move with household income increases.
Where will the zoning incentive for taller buildings apply?
The city’s plans call for creating more housing opportunities that more people can afford in areas near train stations and bus stops. We will also consider using potential incentives in regional and community centers and corridors, where multi-family and mixed-use development is appropriate and where people can live near jobs and amenities. Through this process we will work with the community to decide where it makes the most sense.
Why has housing become unaffordable?
Rising housing costs cannot be attributed to one single issue. They are a result of many different economic factors locally and globally. For example, in recent years, labor and material costs have grown by more than 50 percent. Land costs have doubled in many of Denver’s neighborhoods. Investors have sold homes they rented to new homebuyers displacing renters.
For many in Denver, this means that wages and incomes have significantly lagged increases in housing costs. As Denver looks toward the future, it will have trouble providing housing to its growing workforce in critical industries without creating affordable housing.
Comparing increases in rent, home value and income
Between 2021 and 2019, median rent increased 77 percent, median home value increased 79 percent and the median income for a 2-person household increased 32 percent.
Will these tools serve those experiencing homelessness?
Programs serving individuals and families with very low incomes require significant public assistance funding or subsidy. This would include those who make less than 30 percent of the average income and those experiencing homelessness. Incentives and inclusionary tools serve moderate and workforce housing needs, but the linkage fee can provide increased revenue to meet the needs of our most vulnerable through the creation and preservation of new housing, along with the necessary services to support those individuals and families. Additionally, these tools can alleviate current HOST resources serving higher incomes and enable resources to be re-prioritized to areas with the greatest housing need.
How does state law impact this policy?
In 2021, the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 21-1117, which allowed Denver and other communities across the state to require affordable housing on all new for-sale and for-rent housing. Specifically, the bill enables “local governments to regulate the use of land to promote the construction of new affordable housing units.”
As such, the city’s policy only applies to the construction of new housing units. The bill also requires a “choice of options… and creates one or more alternatives to the construction of new affordable housing units on site.” Denver's policy provides a clear fee-in-lieu to the construction of affordable housing on-site and provides for other negotiated alternatives.
Additionally, the law requires that local governments demonstrate their commitment to “increase the overall number and density of housing units… or create incentives to the construction of affordable housing units.” Denver's policy provides additional incentives to promote the construction of both market rate and affordable housing units.
How does this program fit into the city’s approach to meeting Denver’s housing needs?
The Expanding Housing Affordability program is designed to be complementary to the Department of Housing Stability’s (HOST)’s efforts across the spectrum of housing needs. The mandatory housing component of the program is designed to work within the market to produce a modest yet consistent contribution of affordable for-rent and for-sale units, in mixed-income development throughout the city, including high opportunity neighborhoods. The linkage fee also remains a critical funding source for HOST’s program, particularly toward the creation of new affordable homes. By increasing linkage fees, again within what the market can feasibly absorb, this crucial and flexible capital resource will continue to provide much needed funding that HOST can use to leverage private resources and maximize its production of much needed affordable housing.
How will the city ensure that units remain affordable for the long term?
The policy sets a 99-year affordability requirement for the income restricted units. This will ensure that these homes remain affordable for generations to come. HOST staff will work proactively with property owners and managers, providing support and technical assistance as needed to ensure ongoing compliance through consistent and reasonable reporting requirements.
How are the rent or sale prices for the affordable homes set?
HOST will post a table showing maximum allowable rents and sales prices for affordable each year on its website. The maximum allowable rents/prices at applicable area median income (AMI) thresholds, are calculated based upon a presumed household applying no more than thirty percent (30%) of its monthly gross income from all sources to a housing payments, including utilities.
How are linkage fee funds used?
The linkage fee is a one-time fee paid at the time of new development. Residential developments that include affordable housing are exempt from this fee. Per Denver Revised Municipal Code Section 27-150(b), revenues from the linkage fee must be used exclusively for increasing the supply of affordable rental and for-sale housing, including renter and homebuyer assistance programs, for households earning eighty percent or less of AMI.
Why aren't non-profits exempt from paying the linkage fee?
The linkage fee applies to all new development, including development by non-profits, unless they are developing affordable housing or housing services (the same exception applies to all development). The linkage fee is designed to link the job creation that results from new development with the consequent need for affordable housing. Cities are safest from legal challenge when they apply fees uniformly across all classes of payers. They take on risk when some entities are treated differently than others without a solid basis for why they should be treated differently. Non-profit development results in jobs just like other kinds of development, and like other industries, it creates moderate and low wage jobs that result in increased demand for affordable housing. It would not be factual to claim that the entire class of “non-profits” does not create demand for affordable housing. Additionally, any building could be sold or occupied by a different entity later. There is no way to ensure who a future buyer or tenant will be. A blanket exemption for non-profits could create a loophole in paying the one-time fee.
There is a process for any entity, including a non-profit, to demonstrate that it is producing less demand for affordable housing than a typical project of its size and to request a fee reduction or exemption based on its actual impact.
Common Terms
Cost Burdened: Refers to those who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care.
Extremely Cost Burdened: Refers to those who pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care. Additionally, they may be at high risk of displacement.
Change in cost burden
Among renters earning between $35,000 and $50,000 annually (40-60% AMI):
- In 2010, four out of ten were cost burdened.
- In 2019, eight out of ten were cost burdened.
Among renters earning between $50,000 and $75,000 annually (60-100% AMI):
- In 2010, one out of ten was cost burdened.
- In 2019, four out of ten were cost burdened.
Housing Continuum: The spectrum of all possible housing conditions one might experience – from homelessness to seeking affordable and workforce rental housing to attainable homeownership.
Strong Housing Market: The housing market is considered "strong" when there is a lot of demand (people looking to rent or buy) and a lot of supply (new housing getting built). A good housing market provides a good opportunity to use market-based tools, like the three being studied as part of this project, to encourage the creation of more affordable housing.
The Expanding Housing Affordability policy balances the immediate need for affordable units with the need to provide adequate time for existing projects to move through development permitting under today’s regulations and linkage fee schedules.
On May 22, 2023, the Denver City Council passed CB 23-0422, which extends the approval deadline for development projects subject to a Site Development Plan (SDP). Previously, on November 21, 2022, Denver City Council passed CB 22-1355, which extended the approval deadline for projects requiring only a building permit (not subject to a site development plan).
Current effective dates are as follows:
Projects subject to a Site Development Plan (SDP) review can continue under existing rules if they have a:
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concept site plan or amended site plan submitted by June 30, 2022, and an assigned record number from the city
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AND a final SDP approved by May 17, 2024.
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If a project has received consolidated review comments by May 17, 2024 from their project coordinator that will require a 4th round or more of formal SDP review, the deadline for SDP approval may be extended until August 31, 2024.
Projects also subject to Large Development Review (LDR) and/or active subdivision applications can continue under existing rules if they have a:
- site development concept plan or amended plan submitted by June 30, 2022
- AND a final SDP approved by September 13, 2024.
- If a project has received consolidated review comments by September 13, 2024, from their project coordinator that will require a 4th round or more of formal SDP review, the deadline for SDP approval may be extended until December 31, 2024.
Projects under residential review (new one or two units, or small additions to such units that are not subject to SDP) can continue under existing rules if they have a:
- AND a building permit approved by June 16, 2023 (12-month window).
Additional Information
If a project submitted during these windows makes a substantial change or requires extensive revisions in order to meet codes, it will likely need additional review cycles, which will add time to the project. Please note that these changes may cause the project to miss the above deadlines and not be approved under current regulations and linkage fee schedules.
An SDP is considered approved when the project has received approval signatures on the Mylar SDP. An approved SDP expires after 18 months from the date of approval if an approved zoning permit and building permit (as applicable) have not been obtained and if construction, (as applicable), has not started.
Most changes to approved SDPs are modifications and not amendments. Amendments to approved SDPs trigger a new review and are subject to the effective dates above. Modifications to SDPs that were approved within the windows listed above would not be subject to the proposed effective dates. Read what qualifies as a project modification.