Housing costs in the San Diego region continue to rise at an unprecedented rate. In response to the need to find safe and affordable housing in a tight market, a variety of public and nonprofit agencies in San Diego County offer services to assist individuals and families in obtaining and maintaining adequate housing. The Rental Assistance and Affordable Housing Directory was prepared by the Housing Authority of the County of San Diego to provide residents and the community agencies that serve them with information on affordable housing resources available to low and moderate income households. Fair Housing State and federal Fair Housing laws strive to reduce housing discrimination in the housing rental, sales, lending, and insurance markets on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, national origin, familial status (presence of children), or handicap.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines “affordable” as housing that costs no more than 30 percent of a household’s monthly income. That means rent and utilities in an apartment or the monthly mortgage payment and housing expenses for a homeowner should be less than 30 percent of a household’s monthly income to be considered affordable. Property management companies and private landlords may operate affordable apartment communities that are under contract to provide low income units for a specified period of time. The Affordable Housing Inventory below lists many of these properties.