Overview

The policy of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) requires any developer who takes advantage of an increase in zoning density to include affordable housing in their development project. ANHD and our member groups are committed to working with the City on making our MIH program one of the strongest in the country.

The Project

When the City upzones a neighborhood or a site, they allow developers to build significantly more housing on that site to accommodate residential growth. The benefit to market-rate housing developers is the additional profit gained from building more housing; the community must also benefit by seeing badly needed affordable housing.  A well-designed MIH requirement is one opportunity for communities to gain significant benefit.

In 2014, ANHD led a campaign that successfully brought Mayor de Blasio to adopt a policy of MIH. ANHD and our member groups also fought to increase the amount of affordable housing and deepen the level of affordability that would be required so that the affordable housing truly meets the needs of the community.

The MIH program was adopted in 2016, and through our efforts is the strongest in the country. While the program helps to address the community benefit needed, ANHD believes that in most cases, it still does not go far enough to create the affordability benefit local communities and New Yorkers overall want and need.

ANHD is currently providing local zoning and market analysis to support our member groups in this work, and offers tools and workshops to help local communities facing rezonings understand MIH in relation to their own needs and circumstances. 

Recent Blogs and Media

Blog
November 1, 2017
New York City took an unannounced, but important step towards making the affordable housing it finances “permanently affordability.” In the most recent round of Request for Proposals (RFPs) issued by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the City created a new regulatory requirement that will allow HPD to ensure that all affordable housing built on city-owned land through a Request for Proposals process will keep the affordability benefit in perpetuity.

Related Resources

An analysis of prior losses, and potential gains of affordable housing for Queen’s CB 1.
An analysis of prior losses, and potential gains of affordable housing for Manhattan’s CB 11.
An in-depth analysis of the opportunity of Mandatory Inclusinary Housing, and what has been lost in the current Voluntary Inclusionary Housing policy.
A breakdown of the benefits received by the real estate industry and their corresponding affordable units produced in rezoned areas
A recommendation for a Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning policy requiring affordable housing as an essential public good.

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