Want to partake in Hilton Head’s workforce housing program? You have to follow these rules
If you are a property owner or developer interested in Hilton Head Island’s new workforce housing program, make sure you know the rules.
On Tuesday, the town council unanimously approved a series of covenants and agreements that property owners and developers must sign in order to participate in the program.
The rules clarify who can rent or buy workforce housing and how the program is administered.
The council approved the workforce housing program in November, which provides incentives for developers to build. But since then, no developers have applied.
The first incentive allows developers to convert empty commercial space to workforce or market-rate housing. The second allows developers to double the units they can offer in a given space under certain conditions as long as the development includes workforce housing.
The program has been in the works since 2017, when the town learned 16,000 people travel from the mainland to work each day because they can’t afford to live where they work.
Town staff have indicated they want more direction from council members about where to take the program from here, but the council remains largely divided on issues such as participation in a regional housing trust fund and decisions regarding the kinds of affordable housing development it endorses (i.e., apartments and/or mobile homes).
At a workshop Monday, some council members said they were disappointed that the council had chipped away at the workforce housing program over the years. Others questioned whether Hilton Head was the right place for workforce housing at all.
Still, the council managed to find some consensus the next day, approving the slate of covenants and agreements. Here’s what you should know:
What is workforce housing?
Generally speaking, it’s affordable housing for an area’s working population. Residents may include firefighters, police, teachers, restaurant workers, lifeguards, hotel staff, etc., and their families. It’s not just rental housing. The workforce housing program includes opportunities for home-ownership.
The technical definition of “workforce housing” on Hilton Head is housing that is affordable to households that earn between 60 and 100% of HUD’s area median income for Beaufort County: $74,700, according to Fannie Mae.
The new rules say affordable units must be mixed in with market-rate units — not clustered together.
Who can live in workforce housing on Hilton Head Island?
To rent workforce housing, a family or individual’s household income must be between 60 and 80% of Housing and Urban Development’s area median income for Beaufort County. To own workforce housing, the household income must be between 80 and 100% of Beaufort County’s median income.
All eligible households, the rule states, must include at least one person who works on Hilton Head Island.
Leases for workforce housing rentals, the rule states, can’t be shorter than 90 days.
What about HOAs?
Workforce housing developers that want to create homeowner’s associations for their projects cannot charge more than 75% of what a market-rate unit would be charged in dues.
What if the property owner wants to sell the workforce housing unit?
Residents who own their own workforce housing units must notify the town that they plan to sell the units beforehand. If they transfer the unit to an heir or “other personal representative,” the new owner must follow all the same requirements.
How long do these covenants last?
The covenants last for 30 years from the date the last Certificate of Occupancy is issued on the property. After that, the owner can rent or sell the units at market-rate.
Read more about the covenants and agreements at https://www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov/boards/agendas/2021packets/tc-4-20-2021-pack.pdf.
