Affordable Rental Projects

The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) maintains a list of affordable rental projects where the City may have participated in developments where the City placed inclusionary or other regulatory requirements. In addition, the City from time to time may have an outstanding agreement with a developer and is required to construct as part of their project a percentage of their rental units as affordable. These are minimal, but on occasion are available.  So if you are a prospective renter/applicant go to Applicant Requirements.

How to Apply

Applications can be submitted through our Resident Portal.

Applicant Requirements

Prospective renter/applicant of any affordable rental unit governed by these guidelines must be certified eligible by the City prior to leasing or occupying any affordable rental unit and subject to annual monitoring of eligibility for as long as they continue to rent and occupy an affordable rental unit.

The developer/property manager of the affordable rental units will review and process prospective renter’s application including any and all documentation required and will submit a request  to the City to provide a final eligibility determination.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Income-Eligible Household

Affordable units are restricted to occupancy by very-low, low or moderate income households. Click link for income limits.

2. Household Size

Applicant’s number of bedrooms must be appropriate to number of persons in household. The City will use the Housing Authority’s Standard Voucher unit size criteria to determine number of bedroom for number of persons in household. See chart below:

Bedrooms

Persons in Household
(Minimum – Maximum)

0 Bedrooms (Studio)

1-2

1 Bedroom 

1-3

2 Bedroom 

3-5

3 Bedroom

5-7

4 Bedroom 

7-9

5 Bedroom

9-11

Rental Requirements

Leasing inclusionary or other restricted/regulated City units require a fair and open selection process to ensure the general public has the opportunity to be considered for an affordable unit. The City will approve all materials and processes associated with such affordable rental units.

Maximum Rental Limits

The Maximum Rental Limits are established prior to marketing/outreach of a development. The rental limits are provided to the developer during the negotiation process of the Housing Declaration and Affordable Agreement prior to marketing affordable units. The methodology for the maximum rental limits which provides all factors that will be used to determine maximum limits can be found in Exhibit C of the Housing Declaration and Affordable Agreement.

The Developer will need to provide the following so that the City may provide maximum rental limits:

  • Income level of unit(s)
  • Breakdown by number of unit(s) and bedrooms
  • Utilities paid by prospective buyer, what utilities are electric, gas and who pays for water, sewer and trash, does it have A/C?

Marketing and Outreach

  1. Post affordable rental units within the general project marketing on all social media, websites,  advertisements, onsite facilities (leasing office), print materials, etc. Including bedroom count, income level and site location.
  2. Send project media to local Housing Authorities, and nonprofit and community organizations that provide services to income-level households as required by affordable agreement.
  3. Post or provide the following current income limits link for prospective renters/applicants.
  4. Provide an interest parties portal/form to gather profile information (name, household size, email address, phone number and mailing address). All intake forms must be entered into a database, including submittals made by phone, email or in person.
  5. Send confirmation of receipt of, including interested parties profile information via email. A copy of confirmation is to be kept in the developer/owner’s files. If interested party does not provide an email address, attempt to contact them via phone or mail. 

Lottery Process

  1. Upon closing interest list prepare/print tickets consisting of interested party’s profile information.
  2. Select lottery date.
  3. The lottery will be held in a physical location with developer and or leasing staff onsite, and City/Housing Authority representative attending for purpose of verifying lottery was implemented appropriately.
  4. Interested parties (applicants) will be invited to observe the process via event platform such as Zoom or similar.
  5. Random drawing will be completed when all tickets have been pulled.
  6. A numbered list of names will be prepared during the lottery event from the tickets pulled.
  7. After the lottery is completed, developer/property management staff will begin an eligibility review of all profiles received/drawn.

Rental Procedure

Prospective renter/applicant of any affordable rental unit governed by these guidelines must be certified eligible by the City prior to leasing or occupying any affordable rental unit and subject to annual monitoring of eligibility for as long as they continue to rent and occupy an affordable rental unit.

The developer/property manager of the affordable rental units will process and review the prospective renter’s application and determine eligibility and will submit a request for review to the City for final determination.   Below you will find information and forms required by the City to be submitted by developer/property manager for final determination. 

Applicant Eligibility Criteria

1. Income-Eligible Household

Affordable units are restricted to occupancy by very-low, low or moderate income households. Click link for Income Limits.  

2. Income Verification

Prospective renter’s income shall be determined pursuant to Part 5 (Section 8) Income and Asset criteria.   

Developer/property manager will need to collect applicant information to determine eligibility. Here is a list of Required Information and Documentation to be reviewed by developer/property manager to complete the Tenant Income Certification and the Tenant Applicant Review forms (linked below) to be submitted to the City for final review and determination.

3. Household Size

Applicant’s number of bedrooms must be appropriate to number of persons in household. The City will use the Housing Authority’s Standard Voucher unit size criteria to determine number of bedrooms for number of persons in household. See chart below:

Bedrooms

Persons in Household  (Minimum-Maximum)

0 Bedroom (Studio)

1-2

1 Bedroom

1-3

2 Bedroom

3-5

3 Bedroom 

5-7

4 Bedroom 

7-9

5 Bedroom 

9-11


4. Maximum Rents and Utility Allowances

The Income Limits, Rental Rates and Utility Allowances are established as a maximum and are available for review by the developer/property manager to determine the maximum rents.  In addition, the utility allowance will be reduced from the total maximum rents and that would be the maximum rent paid by the prospective renter.

5. Prospective Renter’s Information Required By City

The required documentation by the City for final determination are the following documents:

The City does not look at the full applicant application, however, will review the above information based on what has been verified by developer/property manager.  The City will respond to the Tenant Applicant Review form with final determination and email back to developer/property manager.

On annual basis the City requires that annual rental monitoring conducted.  You can click on Rental Monitoring to view/review what will be required on annual basis from the developer/property manager.  The City may also do sight inspections as needed.

Rental Monitoring

The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) monitors the rental activity on an annual basis on behalf of the City of Ventura. The City of Ventura provides incentives or financial support, if available, to entities who are planning to construct housing developments, however these sources come with certain restrictions and requirements. The City requires a specific number of units or percentage of total project units to be set aside to ensure the increase of affordable rental housing. The goal is to maintain rents at levels that are affordable to very-low, low and moderate income households as set forth in the City of Ventura’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and the Code of Ordinances 25R.200.810.

If you are a new or recurring owner or manager who is preparing to complete the annual report, please see the section on “Instructions, Resources & Forms” which provides current rents, utility allowances and forms to complete annual report.

Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura
City Programs
995 Riverside Street
Ventura, CA 93001

Nellie Jasso
(805) 648-5008 Ext. 2247

Rental Monitoring Instructions, Resources & Forms

The HACSB begins the annual monitoring on October 1st, you will receive a letter or email sometime in November explaining what is needed to evaluate the performance and compliance of each project under the City of Ventura’s Affordable Housing Program. We understand that your affordable units may have never been monitored or you have been monitored in previous years, however the process should not place a heavy burden on the property managers.

The HACSB reviews the annual report for each project submitted by owner/manager to determine that rents are at the levels required pursuant to its restrictive document. Annual reporting is for the previous year starting from October 1st to September 30th. If you are a new or recurring property manager who is preparing to complete the annual report, please use the appropriate resources and forms that will help you through the process and enable you to complete mandatory report.

Rents vary based on regulatory or affordability agreement (HOME, RDA, AQMP, Tax Credit (TCAC), CDBG, Bond, Density Bonus or Inclusionary). For your convenience the Affordable Housing Program Rents are listed below in a chart based on all sources or requirements mentioned above, except for Tax Credit projects. TCAC rents has its own chart through the Office of the California State Treasurer. If your project has any of the above sources including TCAC, only use the TCAC Rents for your reporting. In addition, the current income limits are listed below:

Utility Allowances vary by project, based on what type of utilities such as gas or electric or electric only, number of bedrooms, single-family, multi-family apartments or multi-family energy efficiency utility allowances. Please verify what utility allowances your project requires and click link below:

The Affordable Unit Summary Report is to be completed for each project to reflect the fiscal year being requested from October 1st to September 30th. The form will be updated annually in October.

The Tenant Income Certification is to be completed for each tenant, which most likely has been completed at time of initial lease-up, recertification or change in income or household status. If your project has TCAC funding you must complete the Tenant Income Certification Form 1. If your project has no TCAC, you will need to complete the Tenant Income Certification 2. The tenant forms should also reflect any changes within the timeframe from October 1st to September 30th for the annual year being reviewed.  

If you have questions about the forms or documentation to be completed, please contact Nellie Jasso at (805) 626-5678. Upon completing the annual report, submit to:

Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura
City Programs
995 Riverside Street
Ventura, CA 93001