• Agency: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (NYC HPD)
• Status: Currently Available

The Extremely Low- & Low-income Affordability Program (ELLA) funds the new construction of low-income multi-family rental projects affordable to households earning a range of incomes from 30-60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI). ELLA requires that 10 percent of the apartments in a project are set aside for formerly homeless households and an additional 30 percent of the apartments are affordable to extremely low and very low-incomes between 30 and 50 percent AMI. Alternatively, projects may have 30 percent of the apartments set aside for formerly homeless households and an additional 10 percent of the apartments affordable to households earning between 40 and 50 percent AMI. Projects may include a tier of units (up to 30 percent of the apartments) with rents affordable to households earning between 70 and 100 percent AMI.
The ELLA program can be used in combination with tax exempt bond financing and as-of-right 4-percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), or with 9-percent LIHTCs. Proposals considering set asides for formerly homeless families may utilize funds available under New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Our Space Initiative in combination with ELLA Program subsidies. ELLA replaced the Low Income Rental Program (LIRP) as part of an effort in 2014 to streamline HPD's program offerings related to affordable and supportive housing loans. While both programs require homeless set-asides, ELLA does not require service contracts.