Affordable housing income limits released for 2022

News release from DPP, July 20, 2022

HONOLULU – The Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) has released the 2022 affordable housing income limits. They serve as guidelines in qualifying purchasers and renters for affordable units as required under various city programs.

Income limits increased 8.1 percent, on average, from 2021. This reverses a 4 percent decline from 2020 to 2021. To put the 2022 income limits in context, they are 3.7 percent higher than in 2020, which is a typical year-to-year increase.

Allowable maximum rents for affordable units increased this year by an average of 7.9 percent over 2021, but are just 0.4 percent higher than in 2020.

The affordable housing income limits and maximum rents are based on the multifamily tax subsidy project income limits set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The DPP’s income limits are the same as that of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC), a state agency that oversees development and operation of many state-sponsored affordable units.

The DPP sets housing expenditure thresholds based on income limits to determine rent guidelines for various income groups and household sizes in Honolulu. For example, the income limit for a household of four at the median level income (100 percent area median income) in 2022 is $130,600, up from last year’s $120,800. The maximum monthly rent for this household is $2,940 for a two-bedroom unit, according to DPP calculations, up from last year’s maximum rent of $2,720.

A complete list of the 2022 affordable housing income limits and maximum rents by income groups and household size is available at https://bit.ly/3yP3agB.

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