Building Belonging.
Providing homes for the people who power our economy
Seattle Social Housing Developer aims to provide housing to low and middle income households who are rent-burdened, can’t afford market-rate housing, but earn too much to qualify for affordable housing.
These are the people who power our economy: teachers, firefighters, service workers, and many others who are rent-burdened and increasingly displaced from Seattle.
Permanently Affordable
Cross-Class Communities
Climate Forward
Publicly Owned
Working together toward a more affordable city
Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) is a new, innovative public development authority created through the passage of I-135 in 2023.
Our mission is to develop, own, lease, and maintain mixed-income housing that is permanently affordable, owned as a public asset forever, and designed for people priced out of market-rate housing.
What is Social Housing?
Social housing exists in various forms throughout the world to provide secure and affordable housing for people who can’t afford market-rate rents. In our Seattle model, housing will be publicly owned in perpetuity and offer the long-term affordability that creates stable living environments, promotes social equity, and prevents displacement.
News & Updates from SSHD
Seattle’s first social housing building draws more than 10K applicants
More than 10,000 people applied to live in Seattle’s first social housing building, a sign of the dire need for affordable housing in one of the nation’s most expensive cities.
The Seattle Social Housing Developer announced last month it would buy the 150-unit Elara at the Market apartments in Belltown, transitioning the high-end building to a mix of deeply affordable and market-rate homes in the first test of social housing in Seattle.
Unlike traditional affordable housing, social housing includes tenants at a wide range of income levels in the same buildings. Popular in Europe, the goal is to subsidize more affordable rents for low-income renters, reduce economic segregation and keep the buildings affordable forever.
Take the Seattle social housing survey
Social Housing is for All of Us. So, let’s make sure it works for all of us. To ensure our resident governance framework is responsive and truly transformative, we need your input. Please take this 5 to 10 minute survey.