Affordable Housing
The DPP is among several City agencies tasked with growing and maintaining the number of affordable homes on O’ahu. While some agencies directly provide affordable housing (AH) units or financial help to households, the DPP leverages its land use permitting authority to require or incentivize private developers to include affordable units in market-driven residential projects.
Who Qualifies for Affordable Housing?
Each year the City publishes its affordable housing Income Guidelines and Maximum Rents which are based on figures released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Typically, households qualify for AH rental units if they earn no more than 80 percent of the area median income (AMI) for Oahu, and qualify for AH for-sale units if they earn no more than 120 percent of the AMI.
Requirements for Affordable Housing in Private Projects
The City requires developers to designate a portion of planned housing units as affordable housing via one of two programs:
- Unilateral Agreements are conditions imposed by the City when land is rezoned. If the rezoning is for housing, the landowner is typically required to set aside 10-30% of the homes to be rented or sold at below-market rates. Here are some resources:
- The Unilateral Agreement (UA) process.
- Resolution 09-241 specifies target income groups and the number of affordable units in UA projects.
- City rules governing affordable units in UA projects.
- Ordinance 18-10 (Bill 58 (2017), CD2), enacted in 2018, broadens the affordable housing requirement to a wider range of projects, not just those resulting from a zone change. It requires AH units in for-sale projects of 10 or more homes.
- City rules governing AH units subject to ROH Chapter 29 and other City approvals, as amended in 2024.
Fee Waivers and Incentives for Affordable Housing
The City offers financial benefits such as fee waivers and grants, and may relax certain development rules such as height and floor area limits, to encourage developers to voluntarily build affordable housing. Here are some resources:
- Ordinance 18-1 (Bill 59 (2017), CD1, FD1) provides fee waivers and tax reductions for AH units built under Ordinance 18-10. Benefits include waivers of fees for building permits, plan review, sewer hookup and park space dedication, plus property tax waivers and a property tax freeze while the AH units are being built.
- Ordinance 19-8 (Bill 7 (2019), CD2, FD1) provides property tax exemptions, allows greater building density and relaxes other building standards for affordable rental projects on lots no larger than 20,000 square feet.
- Ordinance 24-23 (Bill 3 (2024), CD2, FD1) gives cash grants to developers who build AH rentals under Ordinance 19-8.
- The Honolulu Board of Water Supply may provide fee waivers for water systems facilities charges and new meter costs for qualified AH projects that are certified by DPP.
Affordable Rental Housing Projects under ROH Chapter 32
ROH Chapter 32 provides relaxed development standards and financial incentives for Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) Projects as long as a minimum of 80% of the dwelling units are rented to those earning no more than 100% of Honolulu’s Area Median Income (AMI) for a minimum of 15 years.
These projects (sometimes referred to as “Bill 7” projects because of the original bill for an ordinance) proceed directly to the building permit process; no prior discretionary approval is required in most cases. However, an executed Declaration of Restrictive Covenants must be included with the building permit application.
ARH projects are permitted in apartment, apartment mixed-use, and business mixed-use zoning districts, as well as the apartment precinct and apartment mixed-use sub-precinct of the Waikiki Special District, on lots up to 20,000 square feet.
Project Considerations
- The maximum number of affordable rental housing units for each zoning lot is determined by dividing the square footage equivalent of the maximum allowable floor area ratio (FAR) for that zoning lot, excluding any public open space bonus FAR, by a factor of 800, and rounding down to the nearest whole number.
- The maximum size of an affordable rental housing unit in an affordable rental housing project ranges from 500 square feet for a studio unit with one bathroom to 1,350 square feet for a four-bedroom unit with 2.5 bathrooms.
- Refer to Articles 2 and 3 of ROH Chapter 32 for specific development and building construction standards, including examples provided in §32-2.6 and §32-2.7
- See building construction development standards in §32-3.2
Financial Incentives
ARH projects are eligible for the following fee waivers, tax exemptions, and cash grants:
- Waiver of Building Permit and Plan Review fees (ROH 18-6.5(i)(opens in a new tab)).
- Waiver of Water Systems Facilities Charge and New Meter Cost (Request Form).
- Waiver of Wastewater System Facility Charges, Waiver of Water Systems Facilities Charge, and New Meter Cost (ROH 43-10.8(opens in a new tab)).
- Waiver of Park Dedication requirements (ROH 22-7.3(j)(opens in a new tab)).
- Real Property Tax Exemption (10 years) (ROH 8-10.33(opens in a new tab)).
- Property Tax Freeze during construction (ROH 8-10.34(opens in a new tab)).
- Cash Grants (Ordinance 24-23(opens in a new tab)).
Restrictions
- No more than 20% of the total units may be occupied by the property owners or individuals who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the property owners.
- For a period of at least 15 years, the affordable units must be rented at or below the maximum rent established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as applicable by household size. The current Affordable Rent Guidelines published annually by the State Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) provides a useful guideline.
- Units may not be used as short-term rentals (units require a minimum six month lease).
- If the use of an ARH project is abandoned or in violation of any of the permitted uses, development standards, and other requirements of the program, the violator will be subject to enforcement, including potential civil fines.
§32-2.3 Development Standards
Development Standard | Requirement |
| Maximum lot area | 20,000 square feet |
| Minimum front yard | 10 feet, or the minimum front yard required by the underlying zoning, whichever is less. |
| Minimum side and rear yards | 5 feet, or the minimum side and rear yards required by the underlying zoning, whichever is less. |
| Maximum building area | 80% of the zoning lot |
| Maximum building height | 60 feet |
| Maximum density | 4.0 FAR |
| Height setbacks | None |
| Off-street parking | None |
| Bicycle parking | None |
| Off-street loading | None, provided that loading and garbage storage must be accommodated on site. |
| Yard encroachments | Parking, including bicycle parking, is allowed in the side and rear yards. One loading space may encroach a maximum of 5 feet.Required fire exit stairwells and fire corridors may encroach into the front yard by a maximum of 5 feet. |
Contact Information
For questions on ROH Chapter 32 Affordable Rental Housing, please contact the Department of Housing and Land Management at (808) 768-3118.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does the City mean by "affordable housing"?
While many types of low- to moderate-cost housing can be considered affordable, the term formally refers to government-regulated houses and apartments that are reserved for households of a certain income, at a certain price, for a specified period of time. For example, the City may require that 20 apartments in a 100-unit building be rented to families earning 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), and remain at that price level for 30 years.
What is the DPP's role in affordable housing?
DPP regulates affordable housing units built as part of market-driven developments (as opposed to government-planned and -funded housing). In some cases DPP requires affordable housing as part of a private project. In others, DPP offers financial incentives and relaxes rules to encourage developers to voluntarily produce affordable units.
What affordable housing projects regulated by the DPP?
What income groups is DPP trying to help?
City-regulated affordable rentals typically are meant to serve households earning 80 percent of AMI ($96,640 for a family of four in 2021). City-regulated for-sale homes typically target households at the 100 percent and 120 percent AMI levels.
What are the DPP programs that mandate affordable housing?
There are two main programs: One mandates a certain number of affordable units as a condition of rezoning. These conditions are known as unilateral agreements. The second is a 2018 ordinance that expanded the types of projects in which affordable units are required. This program, known as the City’s Affordable Housing Requirement, requires affordable housing in for-sale residential developments of 10 or more units, with some exceptions.
What DPP programs offer incentives to encorage voluntary provision of affordable housing?
The Affordable Rental Housing Project program, enacted in 2019, waives certain City fees, allows extra building height and density, and relaxes other development standards for small-lot rental projects aimed at 100% AMI households. City grants of up to $15,000 per affordable apartment developed under the 2019 program were enacted in 2021. Fee waivers are also granted to projects that are mandated to provide affordable housing.