Affordable Housing In Grand Rapids
Kent County,
Michigan
Waiting List Openings In Grand Rapids
| Waiting List | Status |
|---|---|
| Grand Rapids Housing Commission Housing Choice Voucher | Open Soon |
| Michigan State Housing Development Authority Housing Choice Voucher | Open Now |
79 Low Income Apartment Communities In Grand Rapids
Allen Manor Senior Housing
Grandview Apartments
St. James Apartments
Housing Authorities that serve Grand Rapids
| Housing Authority | Programs |
|---|---|
| Kent County Community Action | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) |
| Grand Rapids Housing Commission | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing; Homeownership Voucher; Family Self-sufficiency; Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH); Section 8 Project-Based Voucher (PBV); Mainstream Voucher; Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) |
| Michigan State Housing Development Authority | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Homeownership Voucher; Family Self-sufficiency; Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH); Section 8 Project-Based Voucher (PBV) |
| Wyoming Housing Commission | Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Public Housing |
Guide To Affordable Housing in Grand Rapids, Michigan
There are 79 low income housing apartment communities offering 5,000 affordable apartments for rent in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids features 2,261 low income apartments with rental assistance where households typically pay no more than 30% of their income towards rent. Additionally, there are 2,739 other low income apartments that don't provide direct rental assistance but remain affordable to low income households in Grand Rapids.
Sourced from federal housing data and AffordableHousingOnline.com research.
Grand Rapids, MI Affordable Housing Snapshot
| Total Affordable Apartment Properties | 79 |
|---|---|
| Total Low Income Apartments | 5,000 |
| Total Housing Units with Rental Assistance | 2,261 |
| Percentage of Housing Units Occupied By Renters | 45.72% |
| Average Renter Household Size | 2.49 |
| Average Household Size | 2.54 |
| Median Household Income | $40,355 ±$774 |
| Median Rent | $783 ±$12 |
| Percentage Of Renters Overburdened | 54.36% ± 2.06pp |
| Total Population | 192,416 |
Population and Household Demographics
Grand Rapids is a City in Kent County, Michigan with a population of 192,416. There are 73,026 households in the city with an average household size of 2.54 persons. 45.72% of households in Grand Rapids are renters.
Income and Rent Overburden in Grand Rapids
The median gross income for households in Grand Rapids is $40,355 a year, or $3,363 a month. The median rent for the city is $783 a month.
Households who pay more than thirty percent of their gross income are considered to be Rent Overburdened. In Grand Rapids, a household making less than $2,610 a month would be considered overburdened when renting an apartment at or above the median rent. 54.36% of households who rent are overburdened in Grand Rapids.1
Area Median Income In Grand Rapids
Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by one's income. Each household's income is compared to the incomes of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD.
HUD often uses an area larger than a city to determine the AMI because HUD anticipates those searching for housing will look beyond individual cities during their housing search. For Grand Rapids, the AMI is calculated from all households within Kent County.
In Grand Rapids, HUD calculates the Area Median Income for a family of four as $76,600
Most affordable housing programs determine eligibility based on the percent of AMI a given household's income is. Among the programs that determine eligibility based on the AMI are Section 8, HOME, LIHTC, Section 515, 202 and 811.
Rental Assistance in Grand Rapids
Rental assistance is a type of housing subsidy that pays for a portion of a renter’s monthly housing costs, including rent and tenant paid utilities. This housing assistance can come in the form of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, project-based Section 8 contracts, public housing, USDA Rental Assistance (in Section 515 properties) as well as HUD Section 202 and 811 properties for elderly and disabled households.
Income Qualifications for Grand Rapids HUD Rental Assistance in Grand Rapids
| Income | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30% of Median | $16,100 | $18,400 | $21,330 | $25,750 | $30,170 | $34,590 | $39,010 | $43,430 |
| 50% of Median | $26,850 | $30,650 | $34,500 | $38,300 | $41,400 | $44,450 | $47,500 | $50,600 |
| 80% of Median | $42,950 | $49,050 | $55,200 | $61,300 | $66,250 | $71,150 | $76,050 | $80,950 |
Low Income Housing Tax Credits in Grand Rapids
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program aims to create affordable rental housing for low and very low income families.
From 1987 to 2012, 45 low income apartment communities containing 2,507 rental apartments have been constructed and made affordable to low income persons in Grand Rapids by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
If your income is less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you should not expect to pay more than the rent value for a unit in the table below. However, Affordable apartment communities that receive funding through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program may have rental units that are not subject to income and rent limits.
Rent limits for the LIHTC Program are determined so that a household making the maximum income for the expected household size of the unit would only pay 30% of their income for rent.
Income Qualifications for Low Income Housing Tax Credit Apartments in Grand Rapids
| Income | 1 Person | 2 Person | 3 Person | 4 Person | 5 Person | 6 Person | 7 Person | 8 Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% of Median | $26,850 | $30,650 | $34,500 | $38,300 | $41,400 | $44,450 | $47,500 | $50,600 |
| 60% of Median | $32,220 | $36,780 | $41,400 | $45,960 | $49,680 | $53,340 | $57,000 | $60,720 |
For example, the expected household size for a two bedroom apartment is 3 people. Using the table above, the maximum income for a 3 person household at 60% of the AMI in Grand Rapids is $41,400 a year, or $3,450 a month. To determine the maximum rent in the table below we multiply the monthly maximum income, $3,450 by 30% to get a maximum rent of $1,035 a month.
Rent for units in the LIHTC Program include a utility allowance which is determined by the average monthly cost of utilities paid directly by residents. This allowance has not been subtracted from the rents in the table below. These utility allowances are set on a property by property basis.
| % of AMI | Studio | 1 Bed | 2 Bed | 3 Bed | 4 Bed | 5 Bed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | $671 | $719 | $863 | $996 | $1,111 | $1,226 |
| 60% | $806 | $863 | $1,035 | $1,196 | $1,334 | $1,472 |
Fair Market Rents in Grand Rapids
Fair Market Rents, often abbreviated as FMR, can be used to better understand the average housing costs of an area. Notably, Fair Market Rents are used to establish the payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, maximum rents in HOME financed rental projects and initial rents for Section 8 project based assistance.
2020 Fair Market Rents
| Studio | One BR | Two BR | Three BR | Four BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $686 | $789 | $962 | $1,296 | $1,481 |
