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Frequently Asked Questions About
The Second Dwelling Unit Program
Will my second dwelling
unit require an affordable housing agreement?
How long will my second unit be subject
to affordability restrictions?
How are low-income households defined?
How will the County determine how
much rent I can charge?
When will the rent limits change?
What’s a “utility allowance?”
When will the utility allowance schedules
change?
How long will the approval process
take?
What if the tenant in my second unit
is income-qualified at move-in and then goes over income?
Is there a minimum or maximum lease
period?
How will the County monitor our Affordable
Housing Agreement once it’s in place?
Why do I have to pay a “monitoring
fee”?
What if I want to sell my property
before the affordability restrictions expire?
Can my relative occupy the affordable
second unit?
Can my dependent child occupy the
second unit?
Do I have to charge rent for my second
dwelling unit?
How do I locate income-eligible tenants?
Can a family with a Section 8 program
Voucher occupy my second dwelling unit?
1. Will my second dwelling
unit require an affordable housing agreement?
Not necessarily. A second dwelling unit that meets the County’s
standards does not require an affordable housing agreement. Property owners
who choose to participate in the affordable housing program may increase
the size of the unit, increase the size of the garage or may build on
a smaller lot size as an incentive for providing an affordable rental
unit. Section 26-88-060 of the County’s Zoning Code describes the
conditions that will allow you to qualify for these incentives by signing
an Affordable Housing Agreement making a second dwelling unit on your
property affordable. PRMD’s 2nd Dwelling Unit Brochure will help
you to determine the circumstances that may allow you to qualify for the
incentives with an Affordable Housing Agreement as a condition of building
a second dwelling unit on your property.
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2. How long will my second
unit be subject to affordability restrictions?
If the Commission records an Affordable Housing Agreement for your second
dwelling unit, you would be obligated to make the unit affordable to low-income
households for 30 years.
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3. How are low-income households
defined?
Low-income households have incomes not exceeding 80% of median income,
adjusted for household size.
Click
here for the current income and rent limits.
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4. How will the County
determine how much rent I can charge?
If your second dwelling unit is subject to the affordability requirements
of an Affordable Housing Agreement, the Commission will determine the
rent for the unit once a year, usually in the spring, when the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development issues income limits for Sonoma County.
For dwelling units reserved for low-income tenants, the Commission uses
the 60% income limit for the household size assumed to reside in your
unit (2 people in a 1 bedroom unit, 3 people in a 2 bedroom unit, etc.)
to calculate the rent limit for the units. The Commission will deduct
from the gross monthly rent limit a utility allowance for any utilities
that you do not include in the rent. Please see the the
current income limits.
and utility allowance schedules for attached
and detached units.
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5. When will the rent limits
change?
The Commission will calculate and send you a revised rent limit for your
unit annually when the Commission receives HUD’s revised income
limits for Sonoma County. Usually, we update the rent limit in the spring.
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6. What’s a “utility
allowance?”
A utility allowance is an amount that you deduct from the gross rent limit
for your unit for specified utilities that your tenant pays in addition
to the rent. You can view the current utility
allowance schedules for attached and detached units on this site.
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7. When will the utility
allowance schedules change?
Normally, the Sonoma County Housing Authority issues the utility allowance
schedules in late summer to become effective in October of each year.
When they issue the new schedules, the Commission will notify each owner
of a second dwelling unit that the new utility allowance schedules are
available on the Commission’s website. You would deduct the new
utility allowance from the rent limit when you re-rent the unit to a new
tenant or you receive a new rent limit from the Commission, whichever
occurs first.
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8. How long will the approval
process take?
Each application for a second dwelling unit will have unique circumstances
that will affect the amount of time PRMD needs to process the application.
You should contact
PRMD to discuss the schedule for your application.
If you choose to participate in the County’s second dwelling unit
program that requires the preparation and recording of an Affordable Housing
Agreement, the Commission normally would have the Agreement ready for
signature within a few days after receiving a) a notice from PRMD that
your permit is ready to issue, b) your application to the Commission,
and c) the fee for preparing the Agreement. When the Agreement is signed,
the Commission would record it within a day or two. Currently, the fee
for preparing the Agreement is $500.
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9. What if the tenant in
my second unit is income-qualified at move-in and then goes over income?
The tenant could continue to live in the unit and would pay the maximum
rent permitted under the second dwelling unit program.
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10. Is there a minimum
or maximum lease period?
The owner must lease or rent the second dwelling unit in compliance with
state law. The minimum rental period is at least 30 days. The owner may
not rent the affordable second dwelling unit as a vacation rental.
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11. How will the County
monitor our Affordable Housing Agreement once it’s in place?
Annually, you will submit a compliance report to the Commission documenting
the name, income, household size, and rent for the tenant residing in
your second dwelling unit on December 31 each year and certify that you
had operated the unit in compliance with the second dwelling unit program
affordability requirements during the past year. The Commission will provide
you the forms necessary to complete the report. When you experience a
change in tenants, you will report the name, household size, income and
rent for the new tenant. Every few years, Commission staff will schedule
a visit to your second dwelling unit. The visit will include an inspection
of the unit and a review of the files that contain the income verifications,
leases and other tenant information that you will need to maintain for
each tenant.
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12. Why do I have to pay
a “monitoring fee”?
The annual monitoring fee covers the Commission’s costs to monitor
the second dwelling unit on your property when it is subject to the affordability
restrictions of an Affordable Housing Agreement.
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13. What if I want to
sell my property before the affordability restrictions expire?
The second dwelling unit program does not restrict your right to sell
your property. When you sell your property, the buyer assumes responsibility
for complying with the requirements of the Affordable Housing Agreement
that the Commission will have recorded against your property.
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14. Can my relative occupy
the affordable second unit?
Yes, your relative may occupy your affordable second dwelling unit if
the relative is income-eligible at the time you rent the unit to the relative.
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15. Can my dependent child
occupy the second unit?
Your child may occupy a second dwelling unit subject to an Affordable
Housing Agreement only if he or she is not listed as your dependent on
your federal income tax return and is income-eligible at the time of move-in.
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16. Do I have to charge
rent for my second dwelling unit?
No, you are not required to charge rent for a second dwelling unit.
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17. How do I locate income-eligible
tenants?
You can advertise in the local newspaper, rely upon word of mouth or contact
the Sonoma County Housing Authority for referrals of income-eligible households.
You must comply with applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in the
renting and leasing of housing.
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18. Can a family with a
Section 8 program Voucher occupy my second dwelling unit?
Yes, a family with a Section 8 program Voucher may occupy your second
dwelling unit. If the Commission has recorded an Affordable Housing Agreement
for your unit, the family’s share of the rent may not exceed the
Second Dwelling Unit program’s rent limit for the unit.
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