LIHI offers two main types of affordable housing: workforce housing and subsidized housing.  Subsidized housing is commonly referred to as Section 8 housing.  Not all of LIHI’s subsidized housing is specifically funded through the Section 8 program, but they function in the same way.  These units are typically designated for households earning at or below either 30% or 50% Area Median Income (AMI).  Residents in subsidized units pay 30% of their income toward rent (and utilities).  If the household’s income changes, the rent will change accordingly.  Workforce housing are apartments that are rent restricted based on the maximum allowable income for the unit.  The majority of our workforce housing units are designated 50% or 60% AMI but also include some 30%, 40% and 80% AMI units.  Workforce housing rent is capped at the corresponding AMI maximum rent.  Applicants must income qualify at or below the unit’s AMI.  Unlike subsidized housing, the rent is a set amount and does not increase or decrease as the household’s income increases or decreases.   Many of LIHI’s subsidized housing units are permanent supportive housing (PSH).  PSH housing serves homeless families and individuals and pairs them with onsite case management and supportive services.  Use of case management and supportive services is encouraged but not a requirement of maintaining housing.  All PSH units are referred through Coordinated Entry or our community partners.  All affordable units are assigned a maximum Area Median Income (AMI).  HUD publishes regional Area Median Income around the month of April annually.  For example, the 2025 50% Area Median Income in King County for a single person is $55,000.  An individual applying for a 50% AMI apartment (either subsidized or workforce) must have an income of $55,000 or less.  The AMI is adjusted for family size, increasing for each additional household member.

Wraparound case management services support clients in securing IDs, social security cards, birth certificates, SNAP benefits, DSHS applications, VA benefits, other forms of income support, job development, education, language assistance, transportation, and housing navigation. We also partner with Evergreen Treatment Services at a couple of our permanent supportive housing buildings to provide professional counseling and medical services to our residents with moderate to severe opioid use disorder (OUD). We want to expand this to as many PSH buildings as possible but are dependent on the funds dispersed from city, county, and state for PSH supportive services.

The funding sources vary per building. We weave together city, county, state, and federal funds with tax credits purchases and loans through banks and local municipalities. Washington state has the most money available for affordable housing on the state level and the numerous funds at the city and county levels. Washington was the first state to establish a Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing developments. We are under the purview of all our funders and partners on an affordable housing development and must report our finances and services to them.

Affordable housing can take 3-7 years to purchase a property, design, conduct neighborhood outreach, build, and lease the building. An affordable housing unit can cost upwards of $200-300K with supportive services increasing that cost. Oftentimes, our Tiny House Villages work in tandem with housing development. Due to permitting and processes, a vacant lot will sit for years before a groundbreaking. Our Executive Director had the idea to make use of this vacant land with tiny house villages! We can operate a Tiny House Village for a few years on a site before groundbreaking for the apartment building. For villages that have this timeline, our supportive services work well ahead of time to help place folks into housing or transfer them to another shelter.

You can find our map and list of affordable housing here.

All housing applications for LIHI properties are handled by the staff at the individual properties, and all inquiries should be made to them. You can find contact and location information for each building here. If there is a property you are interested in that doesn’t have a current vacancy listed, please call the onsite office of that property for vacancy information.

Our buildings serve a wide variety of residents.  Each property is unique with specified incomes and demographics that we serve.  Our properties range from permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals and families with case management and supportive services to HUD project based properties for seniors or families to workforce housing for individuals and families.  Many of our properties have units set aside for veterans, seniors, large families, families with children, people with physical and/or mental disabilities, or homeless households. Overall, our buildings serve households who make 0-60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). AMI is the primary benchmark used by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development to set income eligibility for affordable housing programs and is adopted by state, county, and city level programs as well. Different buildings serve different AMI brackets, some only serve 0-30% while others serve 50-60%, and others serve 0-60%.  The buildings listed on our website will typically denote what AMI percentage is attached to vacant units, but the best way to confirm is to call the property directly.