Portland City Council considers income-limit change for affordable home SDCs
Portland OR—City Council’s July 29 second reading would temporarily drop homebuyer income limits for affordable SDC homes, affecting about 700 unsold units.
Portland City Council is scheduled to hold a second reading on July 29, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. on an ordinance that would temporarily remove the homebuyer income requirement for certain affordable homeownership units receiving a city Affordable Housing System Development Charge (SDC) Exemption.
The proposal (Document 2026-205) would apply only to a specific slice of the program: homes where the builder applied for the Affordable Housing SDC Exemption, received building permits before Jan. 1, 2026, and where the homes were still not sold prior to the Sept. 30, 2028 sunset. If approved, that income requirement would be lifted only during that temporary window.
What Portland City Council is considering
Under Portland’s Affordable Housing SDC Exemption Program, the city reduces some SDC fees at building permit issuance for eligible affordable homeownership units. The ordinance would amend Portland City Code 30.01.095 to adjust the program’s homebuyer qualification rule for a limited set of already-permitted—but still unsold—homes.
What would change (and what wouldn’t)
Right now, Portland’s code defines the owner-occupied units as “affordable” when the homes are sold to households earning at or below 100% of median family income (MFI) for a family of four (with adjustments for household size). For the specific homes covered by this ordinance, the change would temporarily remove that income requirement through the Sept. 30, 2028 sunset.
The ordinance materials describe this as a way to help homebuilders sell units that have remained unsold, by broadening the pool of eligible homebuyers during the temporary period.
Importantly, the ordinance does not describe eliminating other affordability guardrails in the program. The City’s impact statement notes the program is tied to sale price caps, and it lists a $455,000 sale price cap for 2026.
Which homes qualify
According to the ordinance and its impact statement, the income requirement removal would apply only if all of the following are true:
- The builder applied for the Affordable Housing SDC Exemption Program
- The building permit was issued before Jan. 1, 2026
- The home was not sold prior to Sept. 30, 2028
The ordinance also states the income-requirement removal would not apply to units that choose to participate in certain other affordability-related programs, including HOLTE, the Local Transportation Infrastructure Charge (LTIC) Exemption program, or exemptions tied to tree preservation mitigation payments.
How many homes are affected?
The impact statement estimates there are about 700 unsold homes that applied for the Affordable Housing SDC Exemption and received their building permits prior to Jan. 1, 2026—within the group targeted by this proposed temporary change.
Why Portland says it’s doing this
Portland says the Affordable Housing SDC Exemption Program reduces the building permit cost by around $30,000 for each new home. In this case, the city’s stated goal is to help homebuilders avoid a mismatch between units approved for the program and the availability of income-qualified buyers, by temporarily removing the income requirement for the targeted, still-unsold inventory.
What to watch next
Because this is scheduled for second reading on July 29, 2026, the ordinance is still pending Council action. If the change is adopted, residents and prospective buyers should watch:
- Sunset timing: the temporary income-requirement removal runs through Sept. 30, 2028
- Eligibility boundaries: the policy is tied to permit timing (before Jan. 1, 2026) and unsold status through the sunset window
- Other guardrails: the program’s sale price cap continues to apply (with the ordinance citing a $455,000 cap for 2026)
For people tracking Portland’s housing inventory and incentives, the practical question is whether widening buyer eligibility for this specific, long-stalled set of units can help move the homes toward sale—without changing the program’s overall affordability framework beyond the temporary income requirement in this limited category.
Sources
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