Affordable Rental Program

“We have everything we need in our apartment and live in a comfortable place, which is affordable for us. Mi Casa made this possible.”

– Mi Casa Rental Resident

The Need for
Affordable Rental Housing

In response to the critical need for affordable rental housing, we developed the Affordable Rental Program in 2012. Many of the buildings we develop were previously neglected and at risk of being converted into high-end condos, and individuals and families with low-incomes were at risk of being displaced. Our work increases the availability of renovated, long-term affordable rental housing.

DC lost 50%of its affordable rental stock

between 2002 and 2012.

“Disappearing Act: Affordable Housing in DC is Vanishing Amid Sharply Rising Housing Costs,” DC Fiscal Policy Institute, May 2012

Our Strategy:

Our development and renovation of affordable rental housing helps to increase the stock of affordable rental units available and to prevent the displacement of individuals and families with low-incomes. Our development takes place through both the acquisition of neglected buildings on the verge of being converted into high-end condos and the conversion of vacant lots into new affordable rental buildings.

1. We acquire buildings under TOPA in partnership with tenant associations who want to preserve long-term affordability.
2. We secure financing to purchase and renovate small rental buildings (often acquired with years of deferred maintenance), to improve the quality of life for the residents who occupy them.
3. We convert vacant lots into new rental buildings to increase DC’s stock of long-term affordable housing.