Affordable Housing Revenue Hack

20 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief dialogue, Speaker A praises low‑income housing tax credits as a federal tool that encourages private developers to include affordable units. He then shares a surprising California policy: for every affordable unit provided, developers are allowed to add an extra story to their building, turning the credits into both cost savings and a revenue‑boosting opportunity. Speaker B affirms the effectiveness of this approach, noting that it ensures affordable units are built while also delivering a smart government incentive that benefits developers and the public.

Chapters

I'm a big fan of the low-income housing tax credits. I think one of the good things that the federal government can do, that's a good thing. I'll give them one. As those obviously encourage private developers, but I'm fascinated because I did not know that in California, that providing any number of those affordable units could add another story to your building. I just thought it was a way to stack it in for the cost savings, but it's going to be a cost and a revenue improvement.
Exactly. And it works. Because everyone who builds ends up having those few affordable units. And so that's an example of where the government is actually doing something smart.