206.1 The rising cost of housing is one of the most pressing and critical issues facing the District and the region. To achieve our goal of an inclusive city, we must meet the challenge of providing housing for a variety of household types, including families, the elderly, and the homeless; housing for owners and renters; housing for existing and new residents; workforce housing; and housing affordable at all income levels. Tied in with housing cost issues are deeper concerns about displacement, the impacts of gentrification, and long-term competitiveness.

206.2 In the District, market rate housing costs have steadily climbed as demand has increased with population growth. Since the economic recovery began in 2010 through 2017, the median sales price of single-family homes and condominiums have increased 7.3 and 2.8 percent per year, respectively. Average rents have increased 3.8 percent per year. Cost increases are driven by several factors, including: the strong and growing economy; migration into the city; increasing length of residency; growth of high paying jobs; increasing educational attainment levels among newer residents (which correlates to income); and an increase in higher-income families having and raising children in the District. These factors have produced particularly strong demand for housing near Metro stations and for family housing with three or more bedrooms.

206.3 In general, increased demand has prompted rising rents for older housing units, conversions of rental units to ownership units, and demolition of older buildings for redevelopment. The result has been a reduced supply of less expensive housing and a lower availability of lower cost market rate, or "naturally occurring" affordable housing. The District's public housing stock is in a state of serious disrepair, and addressing these needs is further hampered by diminished federal funding. In addition, workforce housing to serve the needs of the District's teachers, nurses, police and fire personnel, and other essential workers must also be considered.

206.4 For many lower income households, increasing housing costs have become difficult to afford, in part because their income growth has not kept pace with increased costs. Most lower income residents are financially burdened by housing costs, which can lead to displacement from their neighborhood, or even the District. In addition, housing insecurity has negative impacts on household health, school performance, job access, and other indicators of wellbeing. Residents of color are a majority of lower income households in the District and, therefore, face a disproportionate share of the problems caused by housing insecurity and displacement.

206.5 Between 2006 and 2017, the supply of rental housing units expanded dramatically, while the supply of affordable units declined. Most of the new units

were higher-cost, studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments affordable to households earning at and above median income. During this period, due to new construction and rising rents of existing supply, the total supply of rental units affordable only to those households earning more than 60 percent of the Median Family Income (MFI) increased by almost 44,765. In contrast, the total supply of rental units affordable to households earning less than 50 percent of the MFI declined by approximately 22,000 units, from 72,000 units in 2006 to 50,000 in 2017. At the same time, there was a modest gain of 2,500 units affordable to households with incomes between 50 percent and 60 percent of the MFI. Almost 7,000 of the District's roughly 8,000 public housing units are currently in critical condition or worse, which may lead to a reduction in affordable housing stock for lower-income households.

206.6 Rising housing costs and decreasing availability of affordable housing are causing more households to be severely burdened, which means their housing costs consume more than 50 percent of household income. In 2017, more than 42,800 households were severely burdened by rental housing costs, while another 32,600 rental households were burdened by housing costs consuming 30 to 50 percent of their income. These households must reduce expenditures on other necessities, such as food and health care. Further, households that are severely burdened by housing costs must often choose between a home that is in a desirable location—close to their community, jobs and/or services—and a home that is more affordable.

206.7 By comparison, the number of households burdened by ownership costs significantly decreased between 2006 and 2017. This decline is attributable to several factors, including older, lower-income households selling their homes to the growing number of younger households starting families, as well as high rates of foreclosure during the financial crisis that started in 2008. Lower- and middle-income households wishing to buy a home now have fewer options. This phenomenon may reinforce racial patterns of settlement in the District and/or create additional market pressure on the housing prices in eastern neighborhoods.

206.8 Increasing costs and a decreasing supply of naturally occurring affordable housing are affecting the types of households that are staying in the District. Figure 2.9 illustrates the change in households by income in the District between 2006 and 2017. The number of extremely low-income households increased by less than 500 households even as more of these households became severely burdened by rental housing costs. There was a notable decline in low- and moderate-income households as many residents sold or lost their homes, resulting in a decrease of more than 15,600 households in this income range. Finally, Figure 2.9 shows that the number of higher income households increased by almost 37,600. This data highlights the importance of preserving and developing housing affordable to low- and extremely low-income households.

206.9 Figure 2.9 Net Change in the Number of District Households by MFI: 2006-2017

MFI	<30%	30%-50%	50%-80%	80%-100%	100%-120%	>120%	Total
Households	447*	(7,695)	(7,919)	5,436	3,145*	37,608	31,022

Source: US Census ACS PUMS 3-Year Data, DC Office of Planning.

*Change not statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence interval.

206.10 These patterns of household change have affected the District's neighborhoods in varied ways. For example, the greatest decline in the number of lower income households was in Capitol Hill and Upper Northeast, whereas the greatest increase in higher income households was in Central Washington. Affordable housing is unevenly distributed across the District. The Rock Creek West area has fewer than 500 subsidized affordable units, while areas east of the Anacostia River provide over 25,000. While the need for affordable housing, particularly deeply affordable housing for low- and extremely low-income households, affects the city, discrete challenges vary at the neighborhood level.

206.11 The District has taken enormous strides toward strengthening its affordable housing infrastructure. The city has some of the strongest tenant protection provisions in the country; the highest level, per capita, for affordable housing investment; the lowest residential real property tax rate in the region; and provides additional discounts for seniors and renters. It has innovative programs such as tax abatements to stimulate the development of workforce housing. From 2015 to 2018, the District of Columbia has successfully delivered, through subsidy or inclusionary zoning, 5352 new or preserved affordable housing units. The District is also committed to addressing temporary or permanent displacement of residents with programs and policies tailored to community needs. For example, the principles for the District's New Communities Initiative include one-to-one replacement of existing affordable housing, Build First, mixed-income housing, and opportunities for residents to return and/or stay in the community. Still, more systemic work is needed to address the impacts of rapid population growth in the District and across a region that is broadly lacking sufficient affordable housing.

SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193;

41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Framework Amendment Act of 2019, effective August 27, 2020 (D.C. Law 23-127; 67 DCR 001360 (February 14, 2020)).