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Housing

The City of Pittsburgh is committed to implementing policies that promote, produce, and preserve affordable housing options throughout the City that are safe, healthy and let all residents thrive.

Policy

Inclusionary Zoning

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) ensures that neighborhoods can offer new housing units by tying the construction of affordable housing to that of market-rate housing. It is used in a variety of cities across the country, and was identified by the City’s Affordable Housing Task Force (AHTF, 2016) as a tool that could work here in Pittsburgh to address the shortage of affordable units.

  • Inclusionary Zoning applies to new construction or major renovation of projects that include 20 or more residential units for sale or for rent
  • Projects that meet the size threshold would need to price 10% of units affordably (rounding up if a fraction)
  • Currently Inclusionary Zoning applies to Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and Polish Hill

2023 Inclusionary Units Occupancy and Rent Table
AMI 1 PERSON 2 PERSON  3 PERSON  4 PERSON  Studio/Eff 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3 Bedroom
30% $21,100 $24,100 $27,100 $30,100 $528 $603 $678 $753
50% $35,150 $40,200 $45,200 $50,200 $879 $779 $1,130 $1,255
60% $42,180 $48,240 $54,240 $60,240 $1,055 $1,206 $1,356 $1,506
80% $56,250 $64,250 $72,300 $80,300 $1,406 $1,606 $1,808 $2,008

  * U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HUD 2023 ADJUSTED HOME INCOME LIMITS

Reports & Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you mean by “affordable”?
Rent or sale prices are based at certain percentages of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Department and varies by household size. For-rent inclusionary units will be set aside for households earning no more than 50% of AMI. For-sale inclusionary units, will be set aside for households earning no more than 80% of AMI. Inclusionary units will be priced at no more than 30% of income, based on these AMI standards. For example, using these pricing standards, a two-bedroom unit would rent for no more than $855, and a two-bedroom home would be listed for sale at no more than $128,000.

Where has the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance been adopted?
Currently, the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance is applicable in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and Polish Hill.