HousingStat:

Ensure an adequate supply of safe, quality housing options for all of our citizens.

Increasing the supply and availability of attainable housing to meet the needs of all citizens is one of the Mayor's highest priorities. In 2018 the City released the Housing for a Fairer Charleston Report that highlighted our housing crisis, identified 35 tools for zoning/policy, funding, education, and capacity building, and 103 seperate recommendations under these tools.

The City recently released its 10-year comprehensive plan, that focuses heavily on housing.

HousingStat take a comprehensive look at our housing challenges and is an attempt to measure the impact of our actions that we believe will be most influential in creating a more fair and stable housing market. HousingStat holds bi-monthly public meetings except during the summer months. Upcoming meetings are listed on the City's public meeting caldendar. Watch our most recent HousingStat meetings on the City's YouTube Channel!

Create and maintain vibrant, diverse and safe neighborhoods.

  1. Significance

    The City of Charleston operates programs to help keep low and moderate income homeowners to stay in their homes, including the Substantial Rehabilitation Program and Roof Replacement Program. The Substantial Rehabilitation Program provides financial assistance to homeowners with major housing repair needs, while the Roof Replacement Program provides financial assistance to homeowners in need of roof replacement. Thanks to these programs, necessary home repairs are made that help preserve affordable housing and support homeowners.

    ACTION:

  2. Significance

    • Blight not only poses health and safety hazards and increases crime, but it can also cause social problems in a community.
    • Blighted properties can create a decrease in surrounding property values which can lead to underappraisal or an appraisal gap for these properties making approval for mortgages more difficult. This can take potentially affordable housing options out of the market.
    • Reducing blight goes a long way to keeping a healthy balance in a neighborhood.
    • Blight is costly to the city through administrative, legal and staff labor costs. Another cost to the city is a loss of tax revenue for these properties and the decrease in properties values surrounding them.
    • 90% of blight code violations are resolved in 10-30 days

    ACTION:
    Create a rental registration program which will assist in easier access to responsible parties to remedy blight issues
    ACTION:
    Develop guidelines to address repeat offenders in order to prevent future problems

  3. Significance

    Transit oriented development promotes a symbiotic relationship between dense, compact urban form and public transport use. Placing affordable housing near public transportation helps support the creation of livable communities and provides transportation options for residents, while reducing the reliance on single occupancy vehicles.

    In selecting potential development sites, the City of Charleston takes into consideration the site location and its proximity to existing or planned transit stops. The goal of the City is to build affordable housing in close proximity to public transportation.

  4. Significance

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Increase the supply of low income, affordable (80% and below) and workforce housing (81-120%).

  1. Significance

    • Over the last decade in the City of Charleston, median rent and home sales prices increased by 51% and 54%, respectively, while household income only increased by 31%.
    • The Charleston region is the 28th most expensive place to buy a home in the entire country,according to a 2021 Urban Land Institute report.
    • Today, 42% of Charleston households are housing cost-burdened (paying over 30% of income on housing).
    • The gap in housing costs and household income is worse for Black households, whose median income in the City of Charleston is less than half of that of White households-and that income gap grew wider over the past decade.
    • Today (January 2024) there are approximately 5,616 deed-restricted affordable housing units in the City of Charleston (meaning residents must meet income eligibility requirements to purchase or rent).
    • Based on a recent housing analysis conducted by Community Data Platforms for the Charleston City Plan, by 2030 there would need to be approximately 16,000 affordable units (at varying levels of affordability) to eliminate affordability gaps.
    • The greatest need is for low-income housing (housing affordable to households making 30% or less of the AMI).
    • In the last 20 years, an average of 94 units per year were created or preserved, and the affordability restrictions of 148 units expired.

  2. Significance

    • Over the last decade in the City of Charleston, median rent and home sales prices increased by 51% and 54%, respectively, while household income only increased by 31%.
    • The Charleston region is the 28th most expensive place to buy a home in the entire country,according to a 2021 Urban Land Institute report.
    • Today, 42% of Charleston households are housing cost-burdened (paying over 30% of income on housing).
    • The gap in housing costs and household income is worse for Black households, whose median income in the City of Charleston is less than half of that of White households-and that income gap grew wider over the past decade.
    • Today (January 2024) there are approximately 5,616 deed-restricted affordable housing units in the City of Charleston (meaning residents must meet income eligibility requirements to purchase or rent).
    • Based on a recent housing analysis conducted by Community Data Platforms for the Charleston City Plan, by 2030 there would need to be approximately 16,000 affordable units (at varying levels of affordability) to eliminate affordability gaps.
    • The greatest need is for low-income housing (housing affordable to households making 30% or less of the AMI).
    • In the last 20 years, an average of 94 units per year were created or preserved, and the affordability restrictions of 148 units expired.

  3. Significance

    The need for affordable housing is critical across all age groups. It is especially true for older adults who are living on fixed incomes. Older populations face numerous housing challenges, including those related to affordability, physical accessibility, and access to medical and other services inside and outside the home.

    The older population is projected to grow rapidly, and although many seniors wish to remain in their homes for as long as possible, challenges related to affordability, accessibility, and poor linkages to health services may make doing so difficult.

    As the baby boom generation ages, demographers project significant increases in the proportion of the American population age 65 and older. The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) projects that the number of U.S. adults age 65 and older will grow from 48 to 79 million over the next two decades.

    By 2035, JCHS expects that 50 million households — approximately 1 out of every 3 in the United States — will be headed by someone age 65 or older, and the number of people age 80 and older will double to 24 million.

    36 units are projected to be preserved in 2022. 0 units are projected to be created in 2022. Two affordable senior housing developments are currently in the development process, totaling 157 units that will be created in the coming years.

    ACTION:

  4. Significance

    During the creation of the Housing for a Fair Charleston Report (2020), a series of interviews with affordable housing developers shone a light on the financial cost of our lengthy review processes, which have made it increasingly difficult for all homebuilders in Charleston to keep housing costs down; and for affordable homebuilders to finance their projects. The priorities of historic preservation, quality design and architecture, and effective stormwater management require several levels of review that together can create a tangled web of submissions, revisions and prolonged waiting periods.

    Rather than compromising on these priorities, the City’s recent efforts have focused on streamlining and shortening the review process for affordable housing projects. Efforts include: the appointment of an affordable housing concierge to provide targeted support to affordable housing developers; priority status for BAR, DRB and Sketch Plan Wednesday agendas; flexible zoning regulations for affordable housing projects in certain base zoning districts; and a shorter TRC review schedule with optional as needed PreCon meetings.

    Continued efforts will be necessary to both lower the overall housing costs for all new housing (including market rate), as well as support affordable housing developers to meet their target timelines and reduce the need for gap funding. If the advantages for affordable housing offer enough in savings, these efforts can also incentivize more developers to include affordable units in their otherwise market rate pursuits.

Decrease the number of individuals experiencing homelessness.

  1. Significance

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  4. Significance

    Service providers fulfill a diverse set of community development activities across the City. Activities include housing counseling, legal services, rental assistance, support for unhoused individuals and families and much more. Thanks to the hard work of local nonprofits, we are able to improve the lives of those in need.

    Funding made available to service providers helps build capacity of local nonprofits, support operations, and provide direct assistance to residents. Utilizing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, the City of Charleston is able to provide some support for these community development efforts.

    Unfortunately, while the need has risen in our community, CDBG funds have declined in recent years. In addition, CDBG funds support the City’s home rehabilitation program and other affordable housing activities.

    GOAL :

Reports & Documents