Affordable Housing Fund
The Affordable Housing Fund is Palo Alto's local housing trust fund established by City Council to provide financial assistance for the development of affordable housing supporting very low, low and moderate-income households that live or work in Palo Alto.
Affordable Housing Funds: 2024 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)
Providing housing for all income levels is a focus for all Bay Area cities, including Palo Alto. Palo Alto has long been a leader in the production of affordable housing and currently has the second highest inventory of affordable housing for incorporated jurisdictions within Santa Clara County (as a percentage of total housing stock). Since 2017, Palo Alto has contributed or pledged over $52 million towards affordable housing, including advancing affordable housing projects such as Mitchell Park Place, Wilton Court, Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, and Homekey Palo Alto.
To further the City's work on housing, Palo Alto City Council adopted Housing for Social and Economic Balance as a 2023 and 2024 Council priority, and endorsed the State certified Housing Element to help guide future housing production and housing-related programs and policies. The City continues to make progress on this important priority through a variety of methods.
Building on these priorities and policies, the City of Palo Alto is pleased to announce the release of a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Affordable Housing projects. Approximately $5 million in local and state-awarded funds is available to support a range of affordable housing developments. This funding opportunity is designed to help developers and property owners bridge the financing gap for projects that meet the City's housing affordability goals.
The NOFA is open to qualified developers and property owners proposing eligible affordable housing projects, such as new construction, rehabilitation, preservation, or conversion of affordable housing units. Priority will be given to projects that serve extremely low, very low, and low-income households. While rental and owner units may be assisted, in practice all units assisted so far have been rental units and almost all have been affordable to very low or low-income households.
To date, the housing projects assisted by the City have been developed, owned and managed by local non-profit housing organizations. Many housing types have been developed serving different housing needs. Examples include senior apartments, single-room-occupancy units, family apartments, units for persons with disabilities, studio units and large family units.
To apply, download the full NOFA document below, which contains detailed information on project eligibility, application requirements, and evaluation criteria.
Important Dates:
Download the NOFA Documents Below:
For questions or more information, contact Robert Feign, Housing Planner, at (650) 329-2195 or via email at Robert.Feign@cityofpaloalto.org.
Want to Learn More?
The City's Affordable Housing Fund Guidelines describe project eligibility and other details for funding.
The City's Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF) webpage describes project eligibility for LHTF funds.