§ 42-128-8.1. Housing production and rehabilitation.
(a) Short title. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Comprehensive Housing Production
and Rehabilitation Act of 2004.�
(b) Findings. The general assembly finds and declares that:
(1) The state must maintain a comprehensive housing strategy applicable to all cities
and towns that addresses the housing needs of different populations including, but
not limited to, workers and their families who earn less than one hundred twenty percent
(120%) of median income, older citizens, students attending institutions of higher
education, low- and very-low income individuals and families, and vulnerable populations
including, but not limited to, persons with disabilities, homeless individuals and
families, and individuals released from correctional institutions.
(2) Efforts and programs to increase the production of housing must be sensitive to the
distinctive characteristics of cities and towns, neighborhoods, and areas and the
need to manage growth and to pace and phase development, especially in high-growth
areas.
(3) The state in partnership with local communities must remove barriers to housing development
and update and maintain zoning and building regulations to facilitate the construction,
rehabilitation of properties and retrofitting of buildings for use as safe affordable
housing.
(4) Creative funding mechanisms are needed at the local and state levels that provide
additional resources for housing development, because there is an inadequate amount
of federal and state subsidies to support the affordable housing needs of Rhode Island's
current and projected population.
(5) Innovative community planning tools, including, but not limited to, density bonuses
and permitted accessory dwelling units, are needed to offset escalating land costs
and project financing costs that contribute to the overall cost of housing and tend
to restrict the development and preservation of housing affordable to very-low income,
low-income, and moderate-income persons.
(6) The gap between the annual increase in personal income and the annual increase in
the median sales price of a single-family home is growing, therefore, the construction,
rehabilitation and maintenance of affordable, multi-family housing needs to increase
to provide more rental housing options to individuals and families, especially those
who are unable to afford homeownership of a single-family home.
(7) The state needs to foster the formation of cooperative partnerships between communities
and institutions of higher education to significantly increase the amount of residential
housing options for students.
(8) The production of housing for older citizens as well as urban populations must keep
pace with the next twenty-year (20) projected increases in those populations of the
state.
(9) Efforts must be made to balance the needs of Rhode Island residents with the ability
of the residents of surrounding states to enter into Rhode Island's housing market
with much higher annual incomes at their disposal.
(c) Strategic plan. The executive office of housing, in conjunction with the statewide planning program,
shall develop every five (5) years, a five-year (5) strategic plan for housing, which
plan shall be adopted as an element of the state guide plan, and which shall include
quantified goals, measurable intermediate steps toward the accomplishment of the goals,
implementation activities, and standards for the production and/or rehabilitation
of year-round housing to meet the housing needs including, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) Older Rhode Islanders, including senior citizens, appropriate, affordable housing
options;
(2) Workers, housing affordable at their income level;
(3) Students, dormitory, student housing and other residential options;
(4) Low-income and very-low income households, rental housing;
(5) Persons with disabilities, appropriate housing; and
(6) Vulnerable individuals and families, permanent housing, single-room occupancy units,
transitional housing and shelters.
(d) As used in this section and for the purposes of the preparation of affordable housing
plans as specified in chapter 22.2 of title 45, words and terms shall have the meaning set forth in chapter 22.2 of title 45, chapter 53 of title 45, and/or § 42-11-10, unless this section provides a different meaning or unless the context indicates
a different meaning or intent.
(1) "Affordable housing� means residential housing that has a sales price or rental amount
that is within the means of a household that is of moderate income or less. In the
case of dwelling units for sale, housing that is affordable means housing in which
principal, interest, taxes, which may be adjusted by state and local programs for
property tax relief, and insurance constitute no more than thirty percent (30%) of
the gross household income for a household with less than one hundred and twenty percent
(120%) of area median income, adjusted for family size. Provided, however, that exclusively
for the residents of New Shoreham, their affordable housing eligibility standards
shall include households whose adjusted gross income is less than one hundred forty
percent (140%) of their residents' median income, adjusted for family size. In the
case of dwelling units for rent, housing that is affordable means housing for which
the rent, heat, and utilities other than telephone constitute no more than thirty
percent (30%) of the gross annual household income for a household with eighty percent
(80%) or less of area median income, adjusted for family size.
(i) Affordable housing shall include all types of year-round housing, including, but not
limited to: manufactured housing; housing originally constructed for workers and their
families; accessory dwelling units; housing utilizing rental vouchers and/or tenant-based
certificates under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended;
and assisted living housing, where the sales or rental amount of such housing, adjusted
for any federal, state, or municipal government subsidy, is less than or equal to
thirty percent (30%) of the gross household income of the low and/or moderate income
occupants of the housing.
(ii) Mobile and manufactured homes shall be included as affordable housing if such home
constitutes a primary residence of the occupant or occupants; and such home is located
within a community owned by the residents or the land containing the home is owned
by the occupant or occupants; and such home was constructed after June 15, 1976; and
such home complies with the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards of
the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(iii) In that New Shoreham has reached its ten percent (10%) low- and moderate-income housing
goal, and for so long as they maintain at least ten percent (10%) of their year-round
housing stock as low- and moderate-income housing as defined in § 45-53-3(5)(ii), and inasmuch as there are provable economic impacts related to the municipalities'
substantial offshore location, residential housing units produced for sale in which
principal, interest, taxes, which may be adjusted by state and local programs for
property tax relief, and insurance constitute no more than thirty percent (30%) of
the gross household income for a household with less than one hundred forty percent
(140%) of the area median income, adjusted for family size, shall be counted towards
the municipalities' low-and moderate-income housing inventory as defined in § 45-53-3(9).
(2) "Affordable housing plan� means a plan prepared and adopted by a town or city either
to meet the requirements of chapter 53 of title 45 or to meet the requirements of § 45-22.2-10(f), which require that comprehensive plans and the elements thereof be revised to conform
with amendments to the state guide plan.
(3) "Approved affordable housing plan� means an affordable housing plan that has been
reviewed and approved in accordance with § 45-22.2-9.
(4) "Moderate-income household� means a single person, family, or unrelated persons living
together whose adjusted gross income is more than eighty percent (80%) but less than
one hundred twenty percent (120%) of the area median income, adjusted for family size.
(5) "Seasonal housing� means housing that is intended to be occupied during limited portions
of the year.
(6) "Year-round housing� means housing that is intended to be occupied by people as their
usual residence and/or vacant units that are intended by their owner for occupancy
at all times of the year; occupied rooms or suites of rooms in hotels are year-round
housing only when occupied by permanent residents as their usual place of residence.
(e) The strategic plan shall be updated and/or amended as necessary, but not less than
once every five (5) years.
(f) Upon the adoption of the strategic plan as an element of the state guide plan, towns
and cities shall bring their comprehensive plans into conformity with its requirements,
in accordance with the timetable set forth in § 45-22.2-10(f); provided, however, that any town that has adopted an affordable housing plan in
order to comply with the provisions of chapter 53 of title 45, which has been approved for consistency pursuant to § 45-22.2-9, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of the strategic plan for low- and moderate-income
housing until such time as the town must complete its next required comprehensive
community plan update.
(g) Guidelines. The executive office of housing shall advise the state planning council and the state
planning council, with the approval of the secretary of housing, shall promulgate
and adopt no less than every five (5) years, guidelines for higher density development,
including, but not limited to: (1) Inclusionary zoning provisions for low- and moderate-income
housing with appropriate density bonuses and other subsidies that make the development
financially feasible; and (2) Mixed-use development that includes residential development,
which guidelines shall take into account infrastructure availability; soil type and
land capacity; environmental protection; water supply protection; and agricultural,
open space, historical preservation, and community development pattern constraints.
(h) The statewide planning program shall maintain a geographic information system map
that identifies, to the extent feasible, areas throughout the state suitable for higher
density residential development consistent with the guidelines adopted pursuant to
subsection (g).
(i) Notwithstanding subsection (d)(1) of this section, the secretary of housing is authorized
to develop a four-year (4) pilot program sunsetting on December 31, 2029, to explore
alternative underwriting criteria to aid in the development of affordable dwelling
units for sale to moderate-income households. Alternative underwriting criteria shall
be limited to no more than thirty-eight percent (38%) of gross household income. For
the purpose of this section, moderate-income households are defined as households
earning between one hundred percent (100%) and one hundred twenty percent (120%) area
median income, adjusted for Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and household size.
Any dwelling unit for sale developed under the pilot program and otherwise meeting
the requirements of the definition of low- or moderate-income housing in § 45-53-3 shall be eligible as low- and moderate-income housing. As part of the annual integrated
housing report, as defined in § 42-64.34-1(iv), the secretary of housing shall provide updates on the status of the pilot program
and any related outcomes.
Notes
Compiler's Notes.
This section refers twice to § 45-22.2-10(f). However, the subsection (f) originally referred to was deleted from § 45-22.2-10 in 2011 by P.L. 2011, ch. 215, § 1, and P.L. 2011, ch. 313, § 1.
P.L. 2022, ch. 223, § 1, and P.L. 2022, ch. 224, § 1 enacted identical amendments to this section.
In 2024, " § 45-53-3(4)(ii)â€�, referred to in subsection (d)(1)(iii) of this section, was changed to " § 45-53-3(5)(ii)â€� to reflect the renumbering of that provision by P.L. 2023, ch. 310, § 1 and P.L. 2023, ch. 311, § 1, effective January 1, 2024.
P.L. 2024, ch. 302, § 1, and P.L. 2024, ch. 303, § 1 enacted identical amendments to this section.
P.L. 2025, ch. 325, § 1, and P.L. 2025, ch. 326, § 1 enacted identical amendments to this section.
This section was amended by three acts (P.L. 2025, ch. 278, art. 9, § 6; P.L. 2025, ch. 325, § 1; P.L. 2025, ch. 326, § 1) passed by the 2025 General Assembly. Since the acts are not in conflict with each
other, the section is set out as amended by all three acts.
§ 45-53-3(5)(ii), referred to in subsection (d)(1)(iii) of this section, was deleted by P.L. 2025, ch. 363, § 2 and P.L. 2025, ch. 364, § 2, effective January 1, 2026.