Below Market Rate (BMR) Rental Housing

Doorway Housing Portal

The City of Emeryville is pleased to share a new resource for finding affordable housing opportunities across the Bay Area called the Doorway Housing Portal. The Doorway Housing Portal serves as both one-stop-shop for affordable rental housing and include a common application to make your experience of applying for housing easier. Applicants can view properties with available listings, open waitlists, and more. 

The City of Emeryville has a Below Market Rate Rental Program, in which apartments have rental units that are restricted to households of a certain income and where the rental rate cannot exceed the annually published maximum rental rate. The following projects are a part of the city's BMR Rental Portfolio and contain BMR Income & Rent restricted units. To determine if a property has an available BMR unit or an open BMR waitlist, contact the specific property below or visit the Doorway Housing Portal.

Emeryville BMR Rental Directory(PDF, 242KB)

The city adopted BMR Rental Guidelines(PDF, 707KB) to provide clear, consistent guidance to developers, tenants and property managers on requirements for participating in the City of Emeryville BMR Rental Program. These guidelines are updated from time to time, and are currently in the process of being updated.

Section 4 of the BMR Rental Guidelines outlines the following requirements for prospective applicants and existing BMR tenants:

• Qualification Requirements
• Household Size Requirements
• Calculating Household Income
• Emeryville Local Preference Requirements
• Application Process
• Exceptions & Appeals
• Annual Recertification Process

NOTE:  The recorded Emeryville Affordable Housing Agreement or the recorded Affordable Housing Agreement issued by other funders, may supersede some of the requirements in the BMR Rental Guidelines.  

BMR Maximum Income Limits

BMR Income Limits represent the maximum income a household may have to qualify for a BMR Rental Unit, based on the number of people in the household. BMR Income Limits are based on information published by the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD). HCD releases annually the income limits based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revisions to the Public Housing and Section 8 Income Limits that HUD releases. The income limits reflected in the City's adopted Affordable Housing Table are for Alameda County. Please note, the some BMR Rental Projects allow BMR tenants' income to increase to a higher income tier during the BMR annual recertification process. To determine the maximum allowable income limit during the recertification process, please contact the property manager or BMR leasing agent at your BMR Rental Property.   

BMR Maximum Gross Rental Rates

BMR Rental Units cannot be leased for more than the gross rental rate, assuming there is no utility allowance or required tenant fees. BMR Rental Rates are published annually, in the City's Adopted Affordable Housing Table, adjusted for the number of bedrooms in a unit and the income tier associated with the unit. The Affordable Housing Table monthly rental rates are based on the housing affordability definitions found in the California Health and Safety Code at Section 50053.

Utility Allowance

When utilities are paid directly by the tenant, a calculation called the Utility Allowance must be made to determine a reasonable cost to associate with those utilities. In Emeryville, the Housing Authority of Alameda County (HACA) determines what the reasonable cost is associated with those utilities and publishes annually a Utility Allowance Schedule based on the # of bedrooms in a unit.

BMR Maximum Net Rent Rate

In order to determine the maximum amount of rent a tenant can be charged for a BMR Rental Unit, take the Maximum Gross Rental Rate and deduct the applicable Utility Allowance and any required tenant fees.  

Required Tenant Fees

Required tenant fees include any charges or expense all tenants, must incur as a condition of renting a BMR Rental Unit. Required tenant fees may vary amongst BMR Rental Properties. Examples of required tenant fees may include rental property insurance, technology fees, package locker fees or amenities fees. To determine if you have any required tenant fees, please review your lease agreement. 

Resource Documents

Affordable Housing Table(PDF, 147KB)

Utility Allowance Schedule(PDF, 177KB)

Maximum Rent & Utility Allowance Fact Sheet for Tenants(PDF, 514KB)

The Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (HACA) operates a number of programs, including the Section 8 Voucher program, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that provide rental housing or rental assistance for low-income families, the elderly, people with disabilities, and others, in Emeryville and much of Alameda County. For information on HACA's programs or to contact HACA, visit their website. 

HACA’s publishes a weekly Rental Listings Directory for landlords and Section 8 HCVP Program participants to facilitate the leasing of rental units under the Section 8 program. For more information on available Section 8 Rental Listings, click here. 

For questions about the BMR Tenant Requirements, BMR Income or Rental Rates, please email Hello Housing at emeryville@hellohousing.org. 

For questions about your rights as a tenant, please email ECHO Housing at emeryville@echofairhousing.org.

For concerns regarding habitability of your BMR unit, please submit a See Click Fix ticket.