Home Real Estate Housing Affordable homes grow across R.I. in 2024 with new counting method

Affordable homes grow across R.I. in 2024 with new counting method

By

Katie Castellani

-

06/10/2025

R.I. HOUSING and Mortgage Finance Corp. released the state’s 2024 Low and Moderate Income Housing chart with major changes to how the agency counts which homes are affordable.

PROVIDENCE – R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. released the state’s 2024 Low and Moderate Income Housing chart with major changes to how the agency counts which homes are affordable. For the first time, the annual chart includes federally funded rental assistance vouchers as well as some mobile and manufactured homes in its count of

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PROVIDENCE – R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp. released the state’s 2024 Low and Moderate Income Housing chart with major changes to how the agency counts which homes are affordable. For the first time, the annual chart includes federally funded rental assistance vouchers as well as some mobile and manufactured homes in its count of the state’s supply of low and moderate income housing. As a result, 6,686 federally funded vouchers and 73 mobile or modular homes were added to the state’s count. These changes are the result of changes to the state’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act which requires each of the 39 cities and towns to have at least 10% of its housing stock deemed affordable. The law also requires RIHousing for updating the LMIH chart to document municipalities' progress in meeting the affordable housing goals. The chart released Monday shows the number of municipalities that met this goal doubled from four in 2023 to eight – Burrillville, Central Falls, East Providence, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence, West Warwick and Woonsocket – in 2024. Three municipalities – Cranston, North Providence and Warwick – also met an alternative rental formula included in the LMIH Act. East Providence and West Warwick had previously met the alternative rental requirement, but also met the 10% goal in 2024. RIHousing counted 44,478 Low and Moderate Income Housing units across the state in 2024 – marking an increase of 6,662 units over last year. But, had RIHousing used its old method, there would have been 37,719 LMIH units in 2024, a drop of 97 units from 2023. This loss of units mainly comes from expiring deed restrictions and fixes to the count that removes duplicated or ineligible units, according to the agency. But, while the change in counting shows a higher number, housing advocates say it doesn't reflect actual growth in Rhode Island's affordable housing stock. "Counting units that had already existed doesn’t help the state get any closer to meeting its affordable housing needs," said Brenda Clement, director at HousingWorks RI. She said including vouchers in the count can be problematic, because depending on the kind a resident has, the same one can be used in different communities. Also, while the number of municipalities meeting the 10% goal has risen, a majority of cities and towns still fall short. “We’re not getting to the goal fast enough,” Clement said, adding that even if every municipality hit the 10% threshold there would likely still be a shortage of affordable housing in the state. Melina Lodge, executive director of Housing Network of Rhode Island, agreed the state needs to continue pressing for more affordable housing. "It's important we continue to drive housing progress in communities across Rhode Island, accelerating and prioritizing development of affordable homes that respond to the pressing needs of families statewide," Lodge said. An overwhelming majority of the state’s LMIH homes are rentals as 90% of the deed-restricted units are affordable and 4% of deed-restricted units are meant for homeownership. Also, 15% of the LMIH count includes rental vouchers and 0.16% of the units represent mobile or modular homes. In 2024, 343 new deed-restricted affordable units were added, including 287 units RIHousing financed – marking the highest number of units financed by the agency in five years. The agency said 48 units were removed from the count because of expiring deed restrictions and non-compliance that led to duplicate or ineligible units. Warren saw the greatest rise with about an 81% jump in its LMIH count, mainly because rental vouchers were included. Jamestown and New Shoreham were the only municipalities to see a net loss in affordable units. Meanwhile, Providence added the highest number of newly deed-restricted units, with 169, and added a net 1,715 units – the largest increase in the state. The net increase came from adding 1,870 federally funded vouchers. However, the city reported the highest loss of non-voucher units – 380 – that had previously been counted to its LMIH goal. These losses were mainly because of data corrections to the Providence City HOME program, which removed 327 units from this year’s count. Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at castellani@pbn.com