Affordable Housing Programs Extended In Marin County

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Two pilot programs related to affordable housing will be extended two more years because of their success, the Marin County Community Development Agency said last week.

The Board of Supervisors this week agreed to extend the Landlord Partnership Program offered by the Marin Housing Authority and the Real Community Rentals Program offered by the Community Land Trust of West Marin.

The $500,000 cost to continue the programs is in the 2018-2019 budget.

The Landlord Partnership Program's $450,000 two-year program leverages federal funding for Housing Choice, known as the Section 8 voucher program, which allows qualified low-income residents to use public subsidies to pay rent to private landlords.

The Section 8 tenants use vouchers to pay 30 percent of their income toward monthly rent, and the rest is covered by a subsidy.

Between June 2015 and June 2018, the probability that a tenant could lease a home with a voucher rose 22 percent in Marin County because of the Landlord Partnership Program, officials with the Marin County Community Development Agency said.

The $50,000 Real Community Rentals Program resulted in the development of 13 new affordable rental opportunities in underutilized West Marin homes.

The Real Community Rentals Program also aims to build on its partnership with the Bolinas Community Land Trust and the San Geronimo Valley Affordable Housing Association to support property owners who create units for lower-income renters.

By Bay City News Service / Image via Shutterstock