Affordable Housing

Santa Barbara residents enjoy a beautiful environment bordered by mountains and seashore, clean air and temperate climate, and a charming ambiance. However, this jewel of a City exacts a high price from those who live here. Housing costs are among the highest in the nation.

Housing costs can be a problem that affects the average resident of this City. Because the high cost of housing has reached a level where Moderate- and Middle-Income residents are affected, there are immediate as well as long-term effects. Low-Income elderly on fixed incomes, Low-Income single parent households on public assistance, and Low-Income persons such as the disabled with special housing needs often have no choice but to live in overcrowded and substandard situations on a budget that is so stretched that basic food and clothing necessities may be foregone. Because of the tight housing market, landlords can choose "preferable" tenants and, therefore, not rent to families with children or to those requiring modifications in the unit for handicapped accessibility. Further, the City faces a situation in which households of all income groups are leaving Santa Barbara. Young families in particular are leaving the area. Skilled workers leave for communities with reasonable housing costs and higher paying jobs. If housing costs continue to rise beyond the means of many residents, the character of Santa Barbara, which provides for a variety of social and economic groups, will be seriously threatened.

The City Council has made a commitment to address the City's housing problems to the extent feasible by implementing the policies and strategies of the Housing Element of the General Plan, which is the City's housing policy document that sets forth the City's action plan to meet the housing needs of the community. One of the central goals identified in the Housing Element is the availability of affordable housing for all social and economic segments of the community.

The term "affordable" may have a wide range of meanings to the public, but in the City's usage, it has a specific meaning. The City, as well as most state and federal housing programs, defines affordable housing as follows:

1. Rental housing where the tenants do not pay more than thirty percent (30%) of their gross monthly income on rent and utilities, and
2. Ownership housing where the owners do not pay more than forty percent (40%) of their gross monthly income on mortgage loan payment(s), private mortgage insurance premium (if applicable), homeowners’ association dues, hazard insurance premium and property taxes. The housing should remain affordable to subsequent residents or owners throughout the term of the affordability controls.

When affordability controls are applied to a project, the particular requirements of any applicable program regulations are incorporated into the project. In addition, it is the City’s standard policy to require a 90-year period of affordability, which is recorded as a covenant on the property.

The City does not own or manage rental properties.  Please refer to the Santa Barbara Affordable Housing Resource Guide for a list of local agencies that offer affordable rental housing.

Our office administers an affordable ownership program.  This program serves low, moderate, middle, and upper-middle income households that meet certain criteria. Please refer to the Eligibility Requirements for more details.

If you would like to be added to our notification list, please submit an Interest List form. The Interest List form needs to be re-submitted to our office every six months in order for you to remain on our notification list and it is not a waiting list. There are two ways that you can have an opportunity to purchase an affordable home in our program:

1. The first and primary way is through the resale of an existing unit. Turnover is slow but when an existing owner decides to sell their affordable unit, they can choose someone from the City’s Interest List or they can find their own qualified buyer (even if that person is not on our Interest List). We do not provide the addresses of the units that are available for resale. However, once you are on our Interest List, your contact information can be provided to existing owners that are considering selling their affordable unit.
2. The second way to purchase an affordable home in our program is by participating in a lottery for a newly constructed project. Once a lottery application period opens, we will send a notification email to everyone that is on our Interest List at that time.

The affordable ownership units are subject to requirements outlined in the Affordability Covenant and Option to Purchase. This 90-year covenant restricts the price of the units, the buyer’s eligibility requirements, and defines the owner’s responsibilities.

If an affordable owner decides to sell their unit, the City calculates the maximum sale price. The restricted resale price is based on the price paid by the owner adjusted by the percentage change in the Area Median Income during the period in which the owner owned the property and occupied it in compliance with the requirements of the Affordability Covenant and Option to Purchase. There is no assurance that the past rate of Area Median Income increase will continue in the future.

The City has implemented a comprehensive program to encourage the preservation or construction of affordable housing. Santa Barbara's housing program consists of several funding sources and mechanisms to increase the City’s affordable housing supply, including providing financial and/or land use incentives to a developer in exchange for a recorded agreement that some or all of the housing units will remain affordable to a certain income group (for example, "Low-Income" or "Moderate-Income") for a specified number of years.  Please refer to the Affordable Housing Policies and Procedures Manual for more information.

Please refer to the Santa Barbara Affordable Housing Resource Guide for a list of local agencies that offer homeless services and transitional housing.

To contact Affordable Housing Programs staff call or email:

Maria Schroeder
Housing Programs Specialist
(805) 564-5461 x4473
MSchroeder@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Melissa Bonillo
Housing Programs Specialist
(805) 564-5461 x4585
MBonillo@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Lucy Graham
Housing Project Planner
(805) 564-5461 x4578
LGraham@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Laura Dubbels
Housing & Human Services Manager
(805) 564-5491
LDubbels@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Mobile homes are a type of housing that is affordable “by design,” as the monthly costs are low compared with other non-deed-restricted housing. For the most part, mobile homes and mobile home parks are governed not by the city, but by state and federal regulations. For more information, including resources for resolving certain disputes between mobile home owners and mobile home-park owners, please visit the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development’s webpage on manufactured and mobile homes: https://www.hcd.ca.gov/manufactured-mobile-home/consumer-information/index.shtml