Below Market Rate Housing
Program (BMR)
The Below
Market Rate (BMR) Housing Program is intended to increase
the supply of affordable housing in Menlo Park. As part
of the program, residential and commercial/industrial developers
who build in the City of Menlo Park are required to contribute
BMR housing units and/or BMR housing in-lieu fees. For more information
on developer requirements, see Developer
Requirements for Below Market Rate Housing Program.
BMR
units can be available for rent or for purchase. BMR sales
prices and rents are based on what is affordable to households
with low to moderate incomes. BMR units are usually part
of market-rate developments and remain permanently affordable
over time.
Where
are BMR units located?
BMR units can be apartments, condominiums, town-homes, or single-family
homes. There are presently 25 Below Market Rate housing
units in Menlo Park, and they are located throughout the city.
No BMR units are available for rent or purchase at this time;
however, the City of Menlo Park Housing and Redevelopment Division
is currently accepting applications for the BMR Waiting List.
When a BMR unit does become available, the City will notify
those persons on the BMR Waiting List who have been on the waiting
list for the longest time. These persons will be invited
to submit a formal application for rent/purchase, and the qualified
and eligible applicant who has been on the waiting list the longest
time will be chosen to occupy the unit.
All of Menlo Park’s 28 BMR units are presently designated as ownership
rather than rental units. The City is currently considering
proposals for additional BMR units.
BMR units are affordable to low and moderate-income households.
To be eligible, applicants (or a member of the applicant’s
household) must have lived or worked in Menlo Park for
at least one year at the time of occupancy. Please
note that to qualify as working in Menlo Park, the applicant’s
work hours must average a minimum of 20 hours per week over the
course of one year.
To be eligible for the BMR Housing Program, gross annual household
income may not exceed the following limits:
- Have a gross annual household income
that does not exceed HUD Low Income for San Mateo County in
order to rent (see the first column on the income
limit chart).
- Have a gross annual household income
that does not exceed 110% of San Mateo County Area Median Income
in order to purchase (see the second column on the income
limit chart).
The
Housing and Redevelopment Division maintains a waiting list of
persons interested in purchasing and/or renting a BMR unit.
To apply to be on the BMR Waiting List, consult the Below
Market Rate (BMR) Housing Program Application Packet
and fill out the Applicant Information Sheet located at
the back of the packet. In order to have your name placed
on the BMR Waiting List, you must submit an application and either
live or work in Menlo Park AND you must qualify by income (see
chart above). Note: You do not have to have lived
or worked in Menlo Park for at least one year in order to be placed
on the waiting list.
Please return the Applicant Information Sheet to the City
of Menlo Park Housing and Redevelopment Division (see address
below). The rest of the application packet is yours to keep.
Qualified applicants are notified by mail of their numbered place
on the waiting list.
A BMR unit becomes available for purchase or rent in one of two
ways. First, presently occupied BMR units are vacated from
time-to-time. Second, a new residential development in Menlo
Park may produce additional BMR units.
When a BMR unit becomes available for purchase or rent, Housing
and Redevelopment Staff prepares a package of detailed information
about the unit. This information package is sent to people
on the BMR Waiting List (starting at the top of the list) whose
household size is eligible based on the size of the available
unit (for example, a one bedroom unit can house from 1-3 persons).
Persons on the BMR Waiting List who receive an information package
are invited to view the unit and submit a formal application for
purchase or rent. Applications are reviewed for eligibility
and qualification and the eligible, qualified applicant who has
been on the waiting list the longest is selected to occupy the
BMR unit.
More
about the BMR Program...
To
request an Application Packet for the BMR Waiting List or to learn
more about the program, please call 650 330-6706. You may
also print the Application Packet directly from this website and
return your completed Applicant Information Sheet to the
Housing and Redevelopment Division. Mail or fax your completed
Applicant
Information Sheet to:
The City of Menlo Park
Housing and Redevelopment Division
701 Laurel Street
Menlo Park, CA 94025-3483
FAX: 650-327-1759
