What Does Affordable Housing Mean?

"Affordable" means a household pays no more than 30% of their gross income for a housing payment. For renters, this includes monthly rent and utility costs. For owners, this includes monthly mortgage payments plus taxes and insurance. This definition is a standard used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is commonly used when discussing or analyzing affordable housing.

Affordable housing policy and programs tend to use income categories based on HUD definitions relating to “Area Median Income” or “AMI.” This is the “middle point” of annual earnings for all families within the Dallas Metropolitan Area. In 2020, the Dallas AMI was $86,220 per year. The below table from the Affordable Housing Needs and Market Value Analysis Report outlines housing affordability for renter and home owners based on AMI.

The City’s activities to meet the goals in the 2015‐2019 Consolidated Plan are reported annually in the HUD Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). The City of Denton has a strong record of performance and was able to meet most of its 2015‐2019 Consolidated Plan five‐year goals. Below is an overview of the proposed goals and the actual accomplishments including a completion rate. During the last five years, the Con Plan goals were focused on affordable rental housing preservation (55 household housing units), home repair (235 household housing units), homeownership (30 household housing units), public facility improvements (10,000 persons assisted), and public services activities (2,800 persons assisted) with an emphasis on homeless assistance (6,500 persons assisted).