If you are building  in San Francisco be aware  that the  San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development Below Market Rate (“BMR”) Inclusionary Housing Program requires some developers to sell or rent 12% of units in new developments at a “below market rate” price that is affordable to lower or middle income households. The program is governed by Planning Code Section 415 and by the City and County of San Francisco Inclusionary Affordable Housing Program.  The program is administered by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (“MOHCD”) and as of this writing,  includes over 600 affordable rental units all around San Francisco. In most cases, BMR rental units are mixed into a larger market rate building. In a few cases, an entire building is made up of BMR units.

For a project to  avoid  delays in launching its market rate units, its critical that the process to rent the BMR units start at least six (6) months ahead of Final Inspection/  Certificate of Occupancy.There are three major components to launching and renting BMR units: Preparation, Marketing/Application Collection, and Selection.

Preparation: The Mayors Office oversees and approves the pricing and marketing of the BMR units.  Part of this approval process is to ensure the project is creating an equal playing field and set of requirements between the BMR and Market Rate Units.  What is asked or required from the BMR applicants, must also be required of the Market Rate applicants.

Marketing/ Application Collection: This is a 28 day process which includes advertising in a predefined number of print publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle or San Francisco Examiner, showing the property and  accepting applications. The number of applications accepted and processed during this time can run into the thousands. This period culminates with a public  “Lottery” in which names are selected from the pool of applications.

Selection: From the pool of names which were selected from the Lottery, applications are run and background information checked. If qualified, they are offered the unit to rent.

Each of these sections as outlined above is a very high level review of the requirements. Before beginning the process,  its highly recommended that you spend a  good deal of time with the Mayors office,  or you seek professional assistance to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations.

For assistance in leasing your BMR units. Contact Eric Baird at eric@relisto.com or call 415-236-6116 x 101

ReLISTO is a San Francisco and Bay Area  Residential Leasing Agency  which provides  services to landlords and developers to  maximize their financial return  on their furnished and unfurnished properties and secure  qualified tenants.  As a full service leasing agency we provide professional services  and staffing to Housing Developers  to properly submit and comply with the San Francisco’s requirements to rent and lease Below Market Rate Housing Units (BMR),  Airbnb Support Services to maximize landlord bookings, roommate finding services and professional relocation services and placement.