Seattle Publishes Updated MFTE Income Limits

After suspending rent increases in the MFTE program in early April, the Seattle Office of Housing published income and rent schedules for the MFTE and other income and rent restricted programs on Monday May 14, 2018.  

The published rent and income schedule results in an average 4.5% increase in allowable rent and income limits, which is much lower than the 7.7% increase published by HUD on March 30, 2018.  According to the City of Seattle, the published schedule reflects their "goal of ensuring stability for tenants and sustainability of affordable rental housing."  

We expressed our strong disagreement with the initial "rent freeze" to the Seattle Office of Housing, and asked to engage in a conversation with them in the hopes of preserving a successful affordable housing program in Seattle.  The Office of Housing arbitrarily published rent and income guidelines, much lower than the HUD published income limits, without any meeting. 

We are evaluating options available to the rental housing community to preserve the integrity and success of the Multi-Family Tax Exemption program.