Tag: affordable housing

Affordable housing bills well represented in new session

By Gary Bennett and Hugh Gordon

Maryland State House in Annapolis, MD

This article appears in the February 10, 2024, issue of the Fredrick News-Post’s Opinion section.

The Affordable Housing Council of Frederick County is pleased to see there is clear recognition by the Maryland General Assembly, as evidenced by the actions it is taking, of the massive shortage of affordable housing across all of Maryland.

When the 90-day 2024 session kicked off on Jan. 10, it had prefilings over more than 800 proposed bills, many of which overlap. Of these, more than 200 deal with housing, affordable housing or related subject areas. All will be heard in committees in which Frederick County is well represented.

Despite the Affordable Housing Council’s urging, no housing-related priorities made it into the Frederick County Council’s 2024 legislative package. However, the County Council did provide several position statements supporting affordable housing initiatives and particularly the landlord/tenant “just cause” eviction notice.

The Affordable Housing Council has identified the following seven bills as important to advocate for and actively track during their monthly deliberations.

• HB3: Expedited Development Review Processes for Affordable Housing — sponsored by Del. Vaughn Stewart of Montgomery County. It requires local jurisdictions to implement an expedited development review process for affordable housing.

This bill is especially attractive since it mirrors the governor’s wish to reduce the public hearing process used to delay projects or have them narrowed and a 2024 policy priority for the local Affordable Housing Council to streamline Frederick County’s and the city of Frederick’s permitting process to accelerate affordable housing projects.

• HB7: Housing Innovation Pilot Program and Housing Innovation Fund — also sponsored by Stewart. It proposes establishing a housing innovation pilot program at Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for providing loans for local housing authorities to develop mixed-income, cross-subsidized housing.

DHCD, the primary housing authority for the state, funds or insures loans for the purchase and construction of housing for low-income families; helps low- and moderate-income families buy or rehabilitate houses; and aids nonprofit organizations with grants or loans to house the elderly, developmentally disabled and homeless.

This bill dovetails nicely with Frederick County’s stated goal for its Division of Housing to expand further into the world of housing finance by prioritizing outside funding opportunities to create and preserve affordable housing.

• HB63: Property Tax Credit for Dwelling House of Disabled Veterans — sponsored by Del. Andrew Pruski of Anne Arundel County. It provides for a tax credit for dwelling houses of disabled veterans as declared by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

• SB25: Disabled or Fallen Law Enforcement Officer or Rescue Worker Property Tax Credits — sponsored by Sen. Katherine Klausmeier of Baltimore County. It proposes a tax credit for disabled or fallen law enforcement officers or rescue workers.

• HB69: Live Where You Teach Program — sponsored by Del. Marlon Amprey of Baltimore City. It authorizes the Community Development Administration in the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development to administer a homebuyer assistance program and a rental assistance program for housing near schools where school employees want to live.

• SB90, sponsored by Sen. Antonio Hayes of Baltimore City, is proposing that $200,000 be appropriated for CDA to apply to the Live Where You Teach Program.

This bill, if passed, would only apply at this time to the school staff in Baltimore City, but the positive ramifications for teachers statewide could be huge in the future.

• HB154: Revaluation of Property on Transfer After Appeal — sponsored by the chair of the Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. It provides for a homeowner’s property tax credit for applications submitted within three years after April 15 of the taxable year for which the credit is sought. This means that if the assessment of the property is reduced upon appeal, the taxpayer pays the lower amount.

• HB138: Financial Literacy for All Act — also sponsored by Amprey. It proposes financial literacy requirements as part of required curriculum for students. Financial literacy is an important component for understanding prerequisites for buying, renting or financing a home.

All of these proposed bills are important building blocks for the creation, preservation or financing of affordable homes in the state of Maryland.

We are heartened that help is on the way for millions of Marylanders who can’t afford the home they need.

Editor’s note: Gary Bennett is a retired marketing executive. Hugh Gordon is the association executive for the Frederick County Association of Realtors and has decades of experience in the real estate world, including 24 years as a mortgage banker. They are longtime Frederick County residents and members of Frederick’s Affordable Housing Council.

Working to ensure everyone has a decent place to live

By Gary Bennett and Hugh Gordon

This article appears in the January 2024 issues of the Emmitsburg News-Journal and Woodsboro-Walkersville News-Journal, page 21.

Among the many boards, commissions and councils serving Frederick city and county, there is one that advises on the charged issue of affordable housing.

Charged? Well, yes. It is hard to find another issue that elicits such visceral comments both for and against. Most folks support the availability of housing for those economically shut out of the market until it affects them directly. Everyone is for more affordable housing until they think it might affect their own property value or when construction is planned nearby. It is understandable.

That is the tightrope on which the Affordable Housing Council (AHC) is perched.

The AHC serves as Frederick County’s main forum to discuss affordable housing issues, is the main advocate for affordable, safe, and decent housing, supports affordable housing providers and their programs, and advises county and city governments on promising new and existing affordable housing laws and regulations. The council is comprised of appointed volunteers who care about affordable housing issues and have no personal stake in encouraging more affordable housing.

Position Statement of AHC

The Affordable Housing Council believes that:

  • All Frederick County residents deserve to live in safe, decent, and affordable housing that does not require more than one-third of their total monthly income to own or rent. 
  • County, state, and municipal governments should look for every opportunity to incentivize affordable housing options in land use, zoning, and development laws and regulations. 
  • All stakeholders – government entities, developers, builders, real estate firms, civic and business groups, and consumers of affordable housing – need to recognize that a lack of affordable housing is a real problem for all of us and should work together to find real solutions.
  • The lack of enough infrastructure to support increased housing is a real problem and should not be downplayed. Instead of punishing middle- and lower-class Americans, however, we must hold government accountable to proactively fund appropriate infrastructure, especially schools.

What is affordable housing?

The definition of affordable housing is not always accurately understood, especially in terms of today’s charged political discussion. To those with moderate to low incomes, affordable housing is usually defined as housing that requires one-third or less of their disposable income to afford. This includes rentals and owned homes. For these folks, there is not enough affordable housing to go around in Frederick County and in most parts of the U.S. In the affordable housing world, we are typically focused on the ALICE households, those who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. Basically, they are working citizens living paycheck to paycheck.

Policy Priorities of AHC

The Affordable Housing Council has been quite successful in developing housing priorities and encouraging elected officials to give them fair consideration. Indeed, both the city’s Board of Aldermen and the Frederick County Council, depend on the AHC to be non-staff housing experts. We are constantly looking for creative ideas to help increase our affordable housing stock.

Earlier this year, we recommended and were pleased when the Board of Aldermen approved the updated Moderately Priced Development Units (MPDU) ordinance. The ordinance encourages increased development of affordable housing in the city by requiring developers to pay $2 per square foot for every unit in the development if they opt out of building the required number of MPDUs. The fee had been flat but is now pegged to the size of the units in the development. The city is then charged with using the proceeds from the ordinance to fund affordable housing programs. The change in the city’s ordinance brings it into synch with the county’s MPDU ordinance.

Other AHC policy priorities we will advocate for in 2024 include:

  • Updating the 2016 Frederick County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment report to better reflect current housing and economic realities and to develop a strategic plan to address the findings. Such an assessment and plan would guide county and city programs and resources to better serve residents in need of affordable housing.
  • Increasing the portion of the county’s recordation tax revenue that is earmarked for the housing initiative fund (HIF) in one-time increments and consider permanent changes to the formula that funds the initiative. The HIF is used to provide resources that make home ownership accessible to county residents.
  • Supporting the implementation of the City of Frederick’s rental registration and inspection program. The program provides for protection of renters’ rights and landlord and tenant education on renters’ rights and best practices.
  • Advocating for the inclusion of several key policies in the City of Frederick’s form-based code initiative: implementing an affordable housing overlay, waiving development fees for projects that meet certain income requirements, allowing for more density and building height in designated areas and right-sizing parking requirements for new projects.
  • Streamlining Frederick County’s and the City of Frederick’s permitting processes to accelerate affordable housing projects. A particular need is to increase staff capacity and use a customer service-based approach to incentivize and encourage affordable housing projects. 
  • Encouraging the implementation of area plans as part of the Livable Frederick Master Plan to include priorities such as implementing an affordable housing overlay, allowing more density in designated areas, aligning available public transportation with affordable housing developments, and encouraging municipalities in the county to allow construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
  • Waiving or deferring impact fees in Frederick County and the City of Frederick charged to buyers that meet income requirements for affordable housing purchases from a developer. Further, City of Frederick should formalize the waiving of property taxes and impact fees for developers while they are building or renovating homes for sale or rent to residents meeting income requirements for affordable housing.

Hugh Gordon serves as the current chair of the Affordable Housing Council. He commented, “The need for affecting implementation and the potential for assisting seniors, school teachers, policemen, firefighters, restaurant workers, and the most vulnerable residents of Frederick County is critically important.”

According to Malcolm Furgol, vice-chair of the AHC and policy committee chair, “These policy priorities build on past recommendations by the Affordable Housing Council and progress made by Frederick County and the City of Frederick towards realizing a positive environment for safe, stable and affordable housing for all residents.”

Invitation to Participate

The issues are difficult but the stakes are high for all of us. The Frederick County Affordable Housing Council invites you to participate.

AHC meets the second Tuesday of each month at 2:30 pm at a location designated by the Council. Confirm meeting dates and location by checking https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/6371/Affordable-Housing-Council or by calling the Frederick County Department of Housing and Community Development at 301-600-6091.   

Meetings are open to the public and public participation is highly encouraged. Agendas can be obtained at the website noted above. Public comment is welcome at all meetings.

If you are a Frederick County resident, a registered voter and wish to become a member of the AHC, send a letter of interest and resume to  fcgboards@FrederickCountyMD.gov. Call 301-600-1102 for more information. The County Executive makes all appointments subject to confirmation by the County Council.

The AHC may be comprised of as many as 13 voting members. We currently have seven members and two very good prospects. We are working hard to ensure affordable housing consumers such as teachers, police officers, and seniors are represented on the Council as well as members of industry, nonprofit organizations, and the public in general.

Gary Bennett is a retired association executive with no stake in the housing market except for being a concerned citizen. Hugh Gordon is the association executive for the Frederick Association of Realtors and has decades of experience as a mortgage banker. They are long-time Frederick residents and members of Frederick’s Affordable Housing Council.

How housing (or lack thereof) affects our economy

By Gary Bennett and Hugh Gordon

Sharpe Square affordable housing units in Frederick

This article appears in the January 12, 2024 issue of the Frederick News-Post.

As the largest monthly expense for just about all of us, it is no surprise that housing plays an outsized role in our regional and national economy.

First, there is the robust construction industry and all it employs.

We see the workers every day as we make our way around Frederick. It is no surprise that housing construction and allied trades are a large economic engine for most localities, including Frederick County.

Nearly 10% of employees in Frederick County work in the construction and allied trades industry. It is one of the largest industries in our diverse local economy. Any disruption in the construction industry, or any of our top industries, would be harmful to Frederick’s overall economy.

Second, there is the menace of inflation.

The wide gap we see now in the supply of and demand for housing that has driven up housing prices to historic levels had its origins in the recession of 2007.

Later, supply chain woes caused by the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 drove up the cost of housing even more. The lack of balance in the housing market and the higher prices that come with it have been a major driver of inflation.

Even as food and fuel prices begin to moderate, housing prices remain stubbornly high. Mortgage interest rates that rose exponentially over the past year have only cooled demand slightly.

Rents remain artificially high, too, as folks get priced out of the home-buying market and increase competition for rentals. It seems clear, and most experts agree, that the best way to make a meaningful and long-lasting dent in inflation in the U.S. is to create more moderately priced housing.

Thirdly, our current lack of affordable housing may have a profound economic impact on the future if it’s not proactively addressed.

Research has shown that increasing access to affordable housing is the most cost-effective way to reduce childhood poverty and increase economic mobility in America. If we can somehow condition ourselves to take the long view on increased affordable housing instead of focusing on the short-term problems that can be solved with government action and political will, society will be better off.

In a large multi-year study, Stanford economist Raj Chetty found that children living in stable, affordable homes are more likely to thrive in school and have greater opportunities to learn inside and outside the classroom. Children who moved to lower-poverty neighborhoods saw their earnings as adults increase by approximately 31% and had an increased likelihood of living in better neighborhoods as adults.

Indeed, the lack of safe, affordable housing is costing U.S. cities in many ways we don’t always see. It forces families to live far from work, increasing their carbon footprint. It lowers tax bases that fund the amenities we take for granted. And, perhaps most painfully, we lose potential workers and customers that keep our local businesses thriving.

You don’t have to look any farther than our Maryland neighbor to the west, Cumberland in Allegany County, for a discouraging example.

Cumberland has long embraced a very slow-growth housing policy. With little excess housing stock, Cumberland cannot grow.

Young people who may want to stay cannot find entry-level housing. Older folks who wish to sell their large family homes in hopes of downsizing to a smaller, more manageable home cannot find buyers or more modest homes to move to.

Businesses that come to town cannot find appropriate housing for their employees. It is a self-fulfilling cycle that Cumberland has found itself in for years.

Prosperity for the Frederick region depends on decisive action now to make sure our housing stock meets the needs of the future.

We are pleased to see both Frederick City and Frederick County taking steps to make building moderately priced dwelling units more appealing to developers, and if they don’t build them, a revenue base so government can fund affordable housing programs.

For Fredrick businesses to grow and stay vibrant, they need more customers and reliable workers who have housing. To succeed, Frederick County must remain a diverse place where all people have decent, safe, affordable places to live in thriving communities.

Editor’s note: Gary Bennett is a retired marketing executive. Hugh Gordon is the association executive for the Frederick County Association of Realtors and has decades of experience in the real estate world, including 24 years as a mortgage banker. They are longtime Frederick County residents and members of Frederick’s Affordable Housing Council.

How did we get in this affordable housing mess (Part 2)

By Gary Bennett and Hugh Gordon

This article appears as an opinion column in the Saturday, December 9 issue of the Frederick News-Post

In our column of Oct. 21, we discussed the overarching supply-and-demand cause for the nationwide affordable housing shortage and the role that single-family-only zoning plays in exacerbating this shortage.

In this column, we look at other limiting factors for building affordable housing and some possible solutions.

***

Single-family-only zoning is one way local zoning boards limit how much housing can be built.

Many places also employ height restrictions. Some areas are zoned for multifamily buildings, but don’t allow any building over two stories high. This drives down supply.

Parking requirements are often written into zoning laws, too.

Many laws require two parking spaces for each unit of multifamily housing. A 100-unit apartment complex would need 200 parking spots. This usually means buildings of that size don’t get built.

Builders must lower the number of units to save space for parking, even in areas with effective transit systems. Those units become more expensive because the land is still the same cost to the developer. What could have been reasonably affordable units become units for those with higher incomes.

Another feature of many zoning laws is minimum lot sizes. Builders are legally required to allot land for each home, often a large amount.

These “exclusionary” zoning laws push builders to focus on bigger luxury homes instead of smaller starter homes or multifamily homes.

Zoning boards are essentially only allowing people who already benefitted from the wealth of this country — who built their incomes with access to high-opportunity jobs and education and generational wealth — to live in neighborhoods.

Historically, some of the first zoning laws in our country were engineered to block people of color, particularly Black Americans, from living in predominantly white neighborhoods. This was known as redlining.

Today, laws don’t explicitly mention race, but they continue to worsen segregation. In most municipalities, the more single-family zoning for a neighborhood, the whiter it is.

Shrinking the pot of new housing getting built, while demand keeps rising, drives up the cost of housing for everyone.

The old code phrase “changing the neighborhood character” gets thrown around.

People are confused when they hear that affordable housing is coming to their neighborhood. They say they don’t want giant apartment buildings.

And they’re right — not every neighborhood should have giant apartment buildings. But affordable housing is much more than that.

Even small gradual changes to zoning laws can have an impact.

For example, allowing smaller homes on smaller lots, or simply allowing duplexes, would double available housing in some areas. In recent years, cities like Minneapolis took the huge step of ending single-family zoning.

Increased automation of the construction process can help, too.

There’s some innovation now with modular construction and 3D printing, but productivity growth is slow. States can help by mandating that manufactured housing is permitted housing in any zoning code.

The federal government isn’t blameless, either. Many incentives have been written into the tax code to encourage home ownership over other asset classes as our country’s primary wealth-building mechanism.

Most American homeowners expect the sale of their home to finance a large part of their retirement. This means property values must be maintained at all cost.

The Biden administration is attempting to help at the federal level by tackling exclusionary zoning through a $5 billion program to give money to localities that remove exclusionary zoning policies. This is more than any presidential administration has done on this topic.

Help may be on the way from Congress, too. A bipartisan bill called the Build More Housing Near Transit Act has been reintroduced to encourage construction of new homes, including low- and middle-income homes, in transit-served, walkable communities.

The act would incentivize local governments to promote building new homes in and around transit corridors. The bill adds pro-housing policies to existing law, so local governments will be incentivized to make the following changes near transit corridors:

• Eliminate parking minimums

• Establish by-right permitting for projects that meet objective standards

• Reduce minimum lot sizes

• Create and preserve homes affordable to low-income households

• Raise or eliminate height limits

Ending America’s housing shortage will require real political willpower. And it will take people across the country taking a hard look at their own neighborhoods and understanding what gets built and who gets excluded, and how to make home ownership achievable for millions who are shut out.

Editor’s note: Gary Bennett is a retired marketing executive. Hugh Gordon is the association executive for the Frederick County Association of Realtors and has decades of experience in the real estate world, including 24 years as a mortgage banker. They are longtime Frederick County residents and members of Frederick’s Affordable Housing Council.

How did we get in this affordable housing mess?

By Gary Bennett and Hugh Gordon

This article appears in the October 21, 2023, issue of the Frederick News-Post.

As members of the Affordable Housing Council in Frederick County, we spend lots of time looking at houses on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and The Frederick News-Post.

This is no news to anyone, but we can assure you that houses are more expensive than ever. Here in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., region, it’s shocking.

In Maryland, according to Zillow, more than half of all buyers in June 2023 paid above list price for their home. Buyers are paying, on average, 1 to 2 percent above asking price now.

That may not sound like a lot, but on a $500,000 home, that may be another $10,000. One Realtor friend told us that for one of her listings, there were 32 offers, all above asking price. That means 31 unhappy, unsuccessful home seekers.

Renters have it no better.

In Maryland, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has found that a renter working 40 hours per week and earning Maryland’s minimum wage of $13.25 per hour must work 79 hours each week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment and not be cost burdened (not spending more than 33% of income on housing costs).

But it’s not just Maryland and the D.C. area. The lack of affordable housing is a nationwide problem. Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen housing prices reach a level they’ve never reached before.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price for a house in America is now $414,000. That is the second highest median price recorded, after June 2022.

In Maryland, it’s worse. Maryland Realtors, a nonprofit membership organization, reports the average sales price in Maryland is up more than 3 percent from last year to over $486,000. Our proximity to Washington, D.C., has a lot to do with this.

That price may not sound like a lot for this region, but keep in mind it includes all areas of Maryland, rural and urban. Those prices make rents more expensive and home ownership unobtainable for millions of Americans.

How did this happen, and how can we fix it?

We can think of today’s exorbitant housing prices as a result of a supply and demand problem. The housing supply isn’t matching demand.

On the demand side, there has been a generational shift in who is buying homes. Millennials are now the largest generation in American history, and they are aging into their prime home-buying years.

On top of that, until recently, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were at an all-time low, which meant it was relatively cheap to borrow the money to buy a house. That enticed people to buy if they could, making demand for houses even greater.

Over the last two years, interest rates rose past 7 percent, but because of low inventory, that has yet to substantially cool demand in the housing market.

From 2010 to 2019, there were fewer homes built in the U.S. than in any decade since the 1940s. In particular, the construction of smaller, entry-level homes, for first-time home buyers, has dropped more dramatically.

In the 1980s, those “starter” homes made up about 40 percent of homes built. Today, it is closer to 8 percent.

Currently, the National Association of Realtors says the U.S. is down anywhere from 5.5 million to 6.8 million starter homes needed to satisfy demand.

Moreover, according to Pew Research in 2021, 55 percent of adults under age 30 said the lack of affordable housing is a major problem, up from 39 percent in 2018.

This housing shortage drives a big part of the problem for renters and prospective homeowners. It is worse where demand is highest, such as near good jobs, transit and schools like Frederick.

One straightforward solution is to simply build more affordable homes in desirable places. For years, however, there has been one big obstacle — builders aren’t allowed to.

Zoning or local regulations that decide where things can be built overwhelmingly favor single-family homes over multifamily homes. Zoning boards have banned the ability for anyone to build anything other than a single unit of housing on that land.

In many towns, zoning boards exclude all types of multifamily housing from their neighborhoods.

And not just large apartment buildings. Things like duplexes and fourplexes are illegal on most residential land in many American cities.

Single-family housing is the law in 70 percent of Minneapolis, 75 percent of Los Angeles, and 84 percent of Charlotte, N.C., to name a few. This is a huge determining factor for the housing shortage in the U.S.

We need states to step in and preempt municipalities from enacting and enforcing land-use restrictions that raise housing costs. Land-use control is constitutionally guaranteed to states, not municipalities.

States often delegate the authority to municipalities. But they can and should take it back when cities don’t use it for public benefit.

Gary Bennett and Hugh Gordon are longtime Frederick County residents and members of Frederick’s Affordable Housing Council.

Affordable Housing: Frederick’s seniors on the front lines

By Gary Bennett

The Sharpe Square senior living apartments on Motter Avenue in 2020.
Staff file photo by Bill Green

This article appears in the May 31, 2023, issue of the Frederick News-Post’s “Prime Time” magazine.

As we all know, we live in a very high cost-of-living area. Our incomes, however, have not kept pace.

In 2020, United Way of Frederick County completed its ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-constrained, Employed) report. It is almost inconceivable, but they found that a third of our families really can’t afford to live here.

The struggle is even worse for seniors.

According to the same report, 47 percent of those 65 or older have difficulty living in Frederick County and must make tough choices every day on how to juggle paying for medicine, housing, taxes and food.

Housing, as virtually everyone’s largest individual expense, drives this struggle. It is no secret that finding safe, decent and affordable housing for many seniors is often a challenge.

Retired Frederick County school teacher Judy Kendro shared her struggle in the 2018 video The Faces of Affordable Housing [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixwW4onCtUk] produced by Frederick County Government.

“My story could be anyone’s story. It could be you mother’s, your aunt’s, your sister’s, your friend’s, your neighbor’s or even you. My story happens to numerous seniors every month.”

“Three years ago, my best friend, my husband of 44 years, died. While grieving, I had to deal with paperwork, bills, medical bills and finances. My income was cut in half. Then, Uncle Sam said now you are one, which further reduced my income. However, my bills remained the same. In fact, some went up like heat, gasoline, car insurance, taxes and medical insurance. I had to adjust to a new lifestyle and budget.”

“After a year I found that my family house was too big for little old me. So, I did some looking around on my own and then contacted realtors. I thought it would be easy to find desirable, affordable options for senior living in Frederick County. Boy, was I wrong! What I have seen in Frederick County is out of my price range which affects my budget. Or, [I’ve found] fixer uppers, which affects my budget.”

“I am disappointed and discouraged but still looking. So, we need to address affordable, desirable housing for all our seniors and the baby boomers who are becoming seniors.”

Ms. Kendro’s story is not unique.

Frederick County is woefully behind in its housing inventory to serve all who want to live here, and that is especially true for seniors. According to the 2016 Frederick County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment, the housing gap for households making $50,000 per year or less— where most retirees fall—is 11,000 units.

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 access to health services can make doing that difficult.

All is not doom and gloom, however. Seniors do have some affordable housing options they should consider, if at all feasible:

  • Stay in your own home

This option works well if you are in good health and plan to stay that way. Even if your mortgage is not paid in full you can consider a reverse mortgage, which means you can take some of the equity out of your home in the form of additional monthly income. Or you can consider selling your home to a company like Sell2rent.com who will rent it back to you and possibly include home maintenance as part of the deal.

  • Live with family

    Sharing a home with loved ones if often free or low-cost and has the added advantage of having family members around to help you when needed. Both Frederick city and county have revised their Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinances to make it easier for “granny flats” or “in-law suites” to be built.
  • Look into public or subsidized senior housing

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers affordable public housing apartments and even single-family homes for seniors in need. They often come with accessibility features and are priced at 30 percent of your income. Be forewarned, however, that wait lists are often very long, sometimes months or even years.
  • Consider assisted living and residential care options

    This is a good option if you need help with daily activities such as bathing and getting dressed. These facilities offer meals, activities, and help with medication. The average cost across the U.S. is $4,000 a month but the price in Maryland is often more. Frederick offers many reputable facilities:
  • Buckingham’s Choice
    • Country Meadows
    • Edenton
    • HeartFields
    • Homewood at Crumland Farms
    • Montevue
    • Record Street Home
    • Somerford House & Place
    • Spring Arbor
    • Sunrise
  • Tranquility 

    Take advantage of government assistance

    • Low-income seniors can qualify for HUD’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, which helps people afford their rent.
    • HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program provides rental assistance for older adults.
    • The Section 504 Home Repair Program helps pay for repairs and upgrades to your home so you can age in place.
    • The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps cover the cost of heating and cooling your home.

      Ask for help from charitable organizations

      • Several nonprofits are available to help qualifying seniors such as Good Samaritan Society, HumanGood, Mercy Housing and Volunteers of America. 
    • In the Frederick area, check out Habitat for Humanity, Housing Authority of the City of Frederick, Interfaith Housing Alliance, Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs, and United Way of Frederick County.

Frederick County also offers a variety of housing programs seniors can take advantage of. (This may not be a complete list.)

  • Frederick County Senior Tax Credit

    Enacted by the Board of County Commissioners in 2012, the amount of the credit is 40% or 20% of net county real property taxes for qualifying homeowners depending on income.
  • Bell Court Senior Apartments

Owned by Frederick County and located in Woodsboro, the apartments provide affordable rental housing for the low-income elderly.

  • Accessible Homes for Seniors

    Offers seniors low- and no-interest loan options for home renovations such as grab bars, railing and ramps and has recently been expanded to include grant money for those who do not qualify for the loans.
  • Maryland’s Renters’ Tax Credit Program

Provides property tax credits for renters who meet certain requirements, with deeper subsidies available to those individuals over the age of 60 or 100% disabled.

  • Senior Rehabilitation Grant Program

    This program provides grants up to $15,000 for emergency repairs and accessibility modifications to very low-income senior homeowners.
  • Emergency Rehab Loan Program

    Provides zero interest, deferred loans up to $15,000 for emergency repairs.
  • Special Targeted Applicant Rehabilitation Program (STAR)

    Preserves and improves single-family properties by rehabilitating the property and updating it to applicable building codes.
  • Lead Hazard Reduction Grant and Loan Program

    Provides funds to assist homeowner and landlords lessen the risk of lead poisoning and preserve the housing stock by reducing or eliminating lead-based paint hazards.
  • Indoor Plumbing Program (IPP)

Designed to provide indoor plumbing to residential properties. The properties may be single-family, owner-occupied homes as well as rental properties with one to twenty units.

Frederick County offers many apartment housing options geared to seniors. Some are county-funded and some are privately funded:

  • 520 North Market Apartments, 520 North Market Street
  • Brooklawn Apartments, 1001 Carroll Parkway
  • Brunswick House, Brunswick, MD
  • Catoctin Manor/View Apartments, 798 and 800 Motter Ave.
  • Creekside at Tasker’s Chance, 100 Burgess Hill Way
  • Lincoln on the Park Apartments, Emmitsburg, MD
  • Orchard Park @ Ballenger Run, 5234 Black Locust Drive
  • Ox Fibre Apartments, 400 East Church Street
  • Seton Village Apartments, Emmitsburg, MD
  • Sharpe Square Senior Apartments, 820 Motter Ave.
  • Spring Ridge Apartments, 6351 Spring Ridge Parkway
  • Parkview Apartments, 750 Carroll Parkway
  • Taney Village Apartments, 1421 Taney Avenue
  • Victoria Park, Walkersville, MD
  • The Village at Worman’s Mill 55+ Apartments, 2470 Merchant Street
  • Weinberg House, 222 Broadway Street

Gary Bennett is a member of Frederick’s Affordable Housing Council and a board member for Advocates for Homeless Families.