Workforce Housing Program

Properties with Rental Workforce Housing


Core	The Daley at Shady Grove	Flats at Bethesda Avenue	Thayer & Spring

If you want to be notified about new and resale Workforce Housing Units as they become available, click here to subscribe to the County’s eSubscription service and select Housing and Community Affairs/Workforce Housing under Subscription Topics.

For rental Workforce Housing Units, apply directly to the rental complexes.

Workforce Housing is intended to be affordable to households with incomes that are too high to be eligible to participate in the Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) Program.

How to Apply

For more information and how to apply, please click on the Property logo. This will take you to the Property website to apply.

The goals of the Workforce Housing program are to:

Promote the construction of housing that will be affordable to households with incomes at or below 120% of the area-wide median;
Allow households with incomes at or below 120% of the area-wide median income to have greater housing choices in the County;
Increase the availability of housing in the County for public employees and other workers whose income cannot support the high cost of housing that is located close to their workplace;
Assist County employers in reducing critical labor shortages of skilled and semi-skilled workers by providing housing that will be accessible to the worker’s workplaces; and
Reduce traffic congestion by shortening commute distances for employees who work in the County but who otherwise would live elsewhere and encouraging more employees to live in Metro Station Policy Areas.

Workforce Housing Restrictions

Homes that are purchased through the WFH program have certain controls designed to keep the homes affordable. New and resale homes have a 20-year Control Period, except as otherwise described in the Reselling a WFH Home section below. These controls are enforced by restrictive covenants placed on the property that state:

During the Control Period, the owners must occupy the home as their primary residence. The home may not be rented out. If you can no longer live in the WFH home due to employment or other reasons, you must sell the home to another WFH household.

During the Control Period, the owner must not refinance the home for more than the controlled resale price established by DHCA (owners are prohibited from refinancing the property based on the market value of the property). The refinancing must not result in reducing the owner’s equity below $10,000.

During the Control Period, the owner can sell the WFH home for no more than the DHCA-established controlled resale price through the WFH program to an approved WFH program participant. Once the WFH homes have been sold by the developer, the agency responsible for enforcing and administering the program’s long-term rules and regulations is DHCA.

When the property is sold after the 20-year Control Period, the owner must pay half of the excess proceeds to the County’s Housing Initiative Fund. After the Control Period expires, owners are strongly encouraged to contact DHCA prior to refinancing their WFH home. Refinancing does not relieve the owner from the requirement to pay half of the excess proceeds to the County’s Housing Initiative Fund upon sale; therefore, it is important NOT to refinance for the full market value even after the expiration of the Control Period.

Workforce Housing Income Limits

Your household income must not exceed the following limits (by household size):

Household size and maximum income (effective April 5, 2024)

Household Size	Maximum Income
1	$130,000
2	$148,500
3	$167,000
4	$185,500
5	$200,500