San José Department of Housing - Programs

The Department of Housing administers the Housing Development Program. The key objective of this program is to increase the overall supply of affordable housing in San José. The program is financed by bonds, HOME Investment Partnership funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and redevelopment tax increment funds, of which 20% must be set-aside by state law to improve and preserve housing affordable to very low-, low- and moderate-income households.

The Department strongly encourages any developer with a potential affordable houisng project to contact Project Development staff prior to the submission of an application. Our team is here to advise on how we judge feasiblity and how best to work with the City.

For more information about any pending NOFA, please contact the Project Development Manager Kristen Clements, at 408.535.8236, or by email at kristen.clements@sanjoseca.gov.

$20,000,000 Notice of Funding Availability for New Construction of Affordable Multifamily Projects for Families, SROs, and Special Needs

On March 5, 2007, the Director of Housing announced the availability of $20,000,000 in construction and permanent funding available from the City of San José for the purpose of financing the development of affordable multifamily rental housing for families, SROs, and special needs.

Eligible projects include new construction of or adaptive re-use to create family rental apartments, rental SROs/studio apartments, and rental housing for special needs populations.

Below are links to the information that applicants need in order to apply for funding:

March 2007 NOFA Announcement Letter

Multifamily NOFA Application Budgets (in Microsoft Excel)

Project Development Policy and Procedures Manual

Please note that there is no deadline for applications under this NOFA.

In addition to the application to seek a full commitment for construction/permanent financing, the Housing Department also offers an option for a Preliminary Commitment, which is available prior to a project's receipt of land use entitlements.

NOFA scoring for a Preliminary Commitment is the same as that for a full commitment. For program rules regarding the Preliminary Commitment process, please see Section Four of the Project Development Policy and Procedures Manual. The Preliminary Commitment application form is posted below:

Application Form for Preliminary Commitment Letters

Senior NOFA

The Department of Housing is limited by State law in its ability to fund senior projects with Redevelopment funds and is currently not taking new applications for senior projects. For more information, please contact Kristen Clements at 408.535.4236.

Land Acquisition Loans for New Development

On March 4, 2008, the City of San Jose amended its Land acquisition product to increase the amount of funding for the cost of land to be acquired in conjunction with new construction of affordable housing rental projects from 50% to 100%. The City will only fund a loan in an amount equal to fair market value and will commission its own appraisal to be completed prior to funding. For more details on this product, please contact the Department of Housing’s Project Development staff.