An Assessment of the Need for Large Units in the District of Columbia

Though the District of Columbia has a substantial supply of large housing units with three or more bedrooms, those units are not meeting the needs of families with low incomes. Most large units are single-family houses, few of which are affordable. There are only limited affordable large rental units in many areas of the city and the supply of affordable large rental units is decreasing. The District should set targets for the production and preservation of affordable large units, plan for future growth in large renter households with low incomes, and consider a range of tools and policies that will produce and preserve large units including additional subsidies to equalize rent per square foot of large units with smaller ones, incent production and preservation through the Consolidated RFP, and increased density bonuses in exchange for affordable large units.

This assessment was conducted as a partnership with the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development under contract with the District of Columbia’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED). This study as well as DMPED’s s Housing Survey report can also be found here.