Affordable housing glossary: what the words mean
Here is what 42 housing words mean, from area median income to waitlist. Each entry gives the meaning in a few short sentences. Use the list of words to jump to one.
Adjusted income
Your yearly income after some set deductions. Section 8 and public housing use it to work out your rent.
A deduction is an amount taken off your income for things like each child under 18 or certain medical and child care costs. Your rent is usually about 30% of your monthly adjusted income. Your housing office can tell you which deductions it allows.
Apply-direct building
A building with lower rents that doesn't announce when an apartment opens up. To get in, you need to call or visit its office and ask to join its waitlist.
Rents here are lower for people who earn less than the income limit. The income limit is the most a household can earn and still rent there. Only the building can tell you if an apartment is free right now.
Area median income
The middle income in your area. Half of the households earn more, and half earn less.
HUD, the federal housing department, estimates it each year for every area. It is often shortened to AMI. Many income limits are a share of it. For example, a limit can be 60% of the area median income.
Area-wide waitlist
One waitlist for a whole city or county, run by a local housing office. It is not for one building.
When you join, you are in line for help anywhere in that area, like a Section 8 voucher or a public housing apartment. These lists open and close. The wait can be long.
Asset limit
A cap on the savings and other property a household can own and still qualify. Not every program has one.
For Section 8 vouchers and public housing, a federal rule says a household cannot be admitted if its net assets pass a limit that HUD adjusts each year. In 2026 it is $105,574. Retirement accounts and a car you need do not count. Other programs set their own limits, and the listing or the housing office says what they are.
Below market rate (BMR)
A rental or home priced under the market for households under an income limit.
Cities often get these homes by requiring new buildings to include some. The label is common in California. Each city sets its own income limits, how you apply and any resale rules.
Building for people with disabilities
A building built for adults with disabilities who have low incomes.
The federal government helped pay to build it. You apply to the building.
Community land trust
A nonprofit that owns the land under a home, so you buy only the house, usually at a below-market price.
You lease the land, often for 99 years, and agree to resell to another household that qualifies, at a price set by a formula. You keep part of any rise in value.
Down payment
The money you pay up front when you buy a home. The mortgage covers the rest.
Some programs offer help with the down payment or the closing costs, which are the fees to finish the purchase. The help can be a grant or a loan. It has income limits and other rules, so read them before you apply.
Fair market rent
HUD's yearly estimate of what a modest rental costs in an area, by number of bedrooms.
It counts rent plus utilities. Housing offices use it to set the payment standard. It is not the rent you pay, and it does not cap what a landlord can charge.
First come
Applications are handled in the order they arrive (first come, first served), so apply as soon as you can.
The first people who meet the rules get the homes. When the homes are taken, the listing closes, even if the closing date has not passed. If there is a closing date, that is the last day to apply, so don't wait for it.
First-time buyer
Someone buying a home for the first time. Many programs also count people who have not owned a home in the last three years.
The usual test is that you have not owned a home in the last three years. Federal housing rules use this test. Each program writes its own version, so check its rules.
HDC
The New York City Housing Development Corporation, which works with HPD on affordable housing.
HDC and HPD list below-market homes on Housing Connect. HDC also lists re-rentals on its own website, nychdc.com.
Home for sale
A home you can buy for a lower price if your household earns less than a set amount.
Many have rules. Some are only for people buying their first home. Some limit the price you can sell the home for later. Many buyers need a mortgage, which is a loan from a bank to buy a home. Many also need to take a short class.
Household
The people who live together in one home. Your household size is how many people that is.
Income limits go up with each person in your household. In HUD's programs, the income of every member 18 or older counts. Other programs have their own rules.
HPD
New York City's housing department. Its full name is the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
HPD and HDC list below-market homes on Housing Connect, the city's affordable housing website. HPD also publishes the city's area median income table each year.
HUD
The federal housing department. Its full name is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HUD makes the federal rules for Section 8 vouchers and public housing, and local housing offices run them. Each year it also publishes the area median income and the fair market rent for every area.
Inclusionary housing
A local rule that makes developers set aside some homes in new buildings for households under an income limit, or pay a fee instead.
The homes sit inside regular buildings and are usually rented or sold by lottery. The percentage and the income limits change from city to city. You may also see it called inclusionary zoning.
Income limit
The most your household can earn and still apply. It depends on how many people live with you.
Each building, city or housing office sets its own limit for each household size. Some also set a minimum income, the least you must earn to rent there. Not every listing has one.
Income-based rent
Rent that is a share of your income, usually about 30%, instead of a fixed amount.
Section 8 vouchers, public housing and Section 8 buildings work this way, so your rent changes if your income changes. A tax credit building is different: its rent is a capped amount that does not follow your pay.
Income-restricted rental
A lower-rent apartment for households that earn less than a set amount, called the income limit.
The building or the city sets the income limit for each household size, and you can apply if your household earns less than the limit. "Income based apartments" can mean this, or rent set as a share of your income, which is usually about 30%. Some buildings do both.
Interest list
A list you join to say you want to hear about homes. It is not an application.
When a home opens that fits your household, the program contacts you and asks you to finish an application. Each program says if the list also holds your place in line.
Local housing office
The government office in your area that runs housing help like vouchers and public housing.
Its official name is a housing authority. Each one keeps its own waitlists and its own rules.
Local preference
A rule that puts some applicants ahead of others in line, such as people who already live or work in the area.
Each program sets its own preferences, such as for veterans, people displaced by development or households that need an accessible home. You usually need documents to prove one, and no preference guarantees a win.
Lottery
Names are picked by chance, so applying early does not help.
Everyone who applies before the deadline has the same chance. After the deadline, the names are put in a random order, and the program that runs the lottery checks them one at a time. Being picked does not mean you get the home. You still need to show that you meet the rules, like the income limit.
May qualify
Your answers fit this listing's income limit and other rules. The building or office that runs it still makes the final decision.
We compare your answers with the limits and rules the listing posts. That includes your household size and yearly income. The building or office also checks your documents and its own rules. So this is a good guess, not an approval.
Minimum income
The least your household must earn to rent an apartment. Not every listing has one.
Some buildings set one so you can show you can pay the rent. It is often a multiple of the monthly rent, and some buildings waive it for voucher holders. A building that sets your rent as a share of your income may have none.
Mitchell-Lama
A New York State program, started by a 1955 law, for rental and co-op buildings for families with moderate and middle incomes.
Each building keeps its own waitlist, so you apply building by building. Some buildings are for seniors only.
Mortgage
A loan from a bank to buy a home. You pay it back each month, plus interest, over many years.
Interest is the fee the lender charges for the loan. The lender checks your income, debts and credit before it says yes. Some programs name the lenders you can use.
MPDU (moderately priced dwelling unit)
A below-market apartment or home in Montgomery County, Maryland, set aside in a new development.
To rent, you apply to the building. To buy, you finish free classes and enter an online drawing, where living or working in the county can move you up the list.
Open listing
An apartment or home you can apply for right now. Some are waitlists: you sign up now, and you're offered an apartment later, when one opens up.
Each open listing tells you the rent or price, who can apply and how to apply. Some close on a set date. Others stay open until every home is taken or the waitlist is full.
Payment standard
The most a Section 8 voucher will pay toward rent and utilities each month for a home of a given size.
Your local housing office sets it, usually between 90% and 110% of the fair market rent for your area. Your voucher pays up to that amount, minus the share you pay. If the rent is higher, you pay the extra.
Public housing
An apartment that your local housing office owns, where rent is usually about 30% of your income.
Your local housing office is the government office that runs housing help in your area. When an apartment opens up, you can move in if you still meet the rules. A voucher goes with you when you move. With public housing, the rent help stays with the apartment.
Re-rental
An apartment that a tenant has moved out of, rented again to a household under the income limit.
Lotteries are for a building's first rental. In New York City, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) lists re-rentals as first come, first served.
Section 8
A federal program that helps households with low incomes pay rent.
The help comes in two forms. A Section 8 voucher goes with you to a landlord who accepts it. A Section 8 building keeps the help with the building. HUD oversees the program, and public housing is a separate program.
Section 8 building
An apartment building where the government helps pay the rent.
Its official name is project-based Section 8. The government rent help stays with the building. It does not go with you if you move. You apply to the building, not to a housing office. You usually pay about 30% of your income in rent.
Section 8 voucher
Government help that pays part of your rent. You find a landlord who accepts the voucher, and you pay about 30% of your income.
Its official name is the Housing Choice Voucher. Your local housing office is the government office that runs it. The office's waitlists can be long, and a few pick names by lottery.
Section 8 voucher and public housing
One waitlist that covers both Section 8 vouchers and public housing apartments.
A local housing office uses one waitlist for two kinds of help. A Section 8 voucher pays part of your rent to a landlord you choose. Public housing is an apartment that the housing office owns. With both, you usually pay about 30% of your income.
Senior building
A building built for older adults with low incomes.
The federal government helped pay to build it. You apply to the building.
SRO (single room occupancy)
A room for one person, which may share a bathroom or kitchen with other rooms.
Federal rules define an SRO as a unit for one person that may or may not have its own bathroom or kitchen. Check the listing to see what the room includes.
Tax-credit building
A building whose owner got a tax break for keeping rents lower.
The owner agreed to keep rents low. Some homes go only to households that earn less than the income limit. You apply to the building.
Waitlist
You sign up for a list, and when an apartment opens up, it goes to the next person on the list.
The wait can be months or even years. Some waitlists are open for only a few days, and then they close. Being on the list does not promise you a home.