Affordable Rental Pilot Program
Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity has two affordable rental homes in North Church Hill. These two homes are part of an affordable rental pilot program that will allow individuals working towards homeownership to rent a quality, affordable home while working towards their goal of purchasing a home.
As rental costs in the City of Richmond and across the country have skyrocketed, Richmond Habitat saw a distinct need to provide more affordable rental opportunities to local individuals who are working towards achieving their goals of becoming homeowners.
This program will allow individuals working towards homeownership to rent a quality and affordable home with rent capped at no more than 25% of their monthly income. The first two renters for this program are families that are currently in the process of becoming homeowners through Richmond Habitat’s Affordable Homeownership Program. Both were in situations where their rent was too high for substandard living conditions, and they needed a quality, affordable rental option while going through the process.
Currently there is a shortage of 200,000 affordable units (rental and homeownership) in the State of Virginia – 20,000 of which are needed in the Richmond Metro area alone. The average fair market rent in the Richmond area for a three-bedroom apartment is $1,538, compared to the average monthly mortgage payment of a Richmond Habitat homeowner which is $825. According to a report by the Federal Reserve, the average median wealth of a homeowner in the United States is $255,000 – whereas the average median wealth of a renter is $6,300. This shows that homeownership, especially affordable homeownership, is an important tool to help families achieve wealth that can be passed on through generations.
There were three sponsors who helped to make this Pilot Program possible: The Steven & Katherine Markel Foundation, the REB Foundation, and the City of Richmond’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.