Universal Affordability Preference (UAP), Explained

DCP describes UAP as replacing the Voluntary Inclusionary Housing program, as part of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity (December 5, 2024). The extra floor area is often around 20%, but the exact bonus depends on the district.

How the bonus works

• A "UAP development" is a development or enlargement outside a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area that provides affordable housing meeting the rules of ZR Article II, Chapter 7 (ZR 27-111).
• Its residential FAR can exceed the standard FAR in ZR 23-22 "only by the amount of affordable housing provided" (ZR 27-111). In other words, every extra square foot above the standard limit has to be affordable floor area.
• The ceiling is the "qualifying affordable housing or qualifying senior housing" column of ZR 23-22. Height limits for qualifying affordable housing are set in ZR 23-432.
• HPD administers the program; its rules are in Chapter 41 of the Rules of the City of New York (HPD fact sheet).

Standard FAR vs UAP FAR by district

Source: ZR 23-22. R6, R7-1, R7-2 and R8 also have higher standard limits near wide streets (ZR 23-22 notes); in R8 outside Mandatory Inclusionary Housing areas, the UAP limit within 100 ft of a wide street is 8.64. Special purpose districts can set different numbers.

Who the affordable homes must serve

• Households at or below a weighted average of 60% of the income index (AMI) at initial occupancy (ZR 27-111).
• No more than three income bands, and no band above 100% AMI (ZR 27-111).
• For UAP sites with 10,000 sq ft or more of affordable floor area, at least 20% of that affordable floor area must be at or below 40% AMI (ZR 27-111).
• UAP units can be rentals or homeownership units (HPD fact sheet).

Distribution, bedroom mix and unit size

• Vertical: UAP units must be spread over at least 65% of the residential stories (ZR 27-16).
• Horizontal: no more than two-thirds of the units on any floor can be UAP units, with a narrow exception (ZR 27-16).
• Bedroom mix: at least 50% of UAP units must have two or more bedrooms and 75% one or more bedrooms, or the mix must be proportional to the market-rate units (ZR 27-16).
• Unit size: the average UAP unit of each bedroom type must be at least the average of the non-UAP units or these minimums, whichever is less: studio 400 sq ft, one-bedroom 575 sq ft, two-bedroom 775 sq ft, three-bedroom 950 sq ft (ZR 27-16).

The offsite option

UAP floor area can be generated by new construction, preservation or conversion and transferred to a development in a former Inclusionary Housing Designated Area or an R10 district, in the same community district or within half a mile into an adjacent one (HPD fact sheet). Former IHDAs are listed in Appendix F of the Zoning Resolution and shown on ZoLa.

A worked example

A 10,000 sq ft lot in an R7A district outside an MIH area can build 40,000 sq ft of residential floor area at the standard 4.00 FAR. Using UAP it can reach 5.01 FAR, or 50,100 sq ft, if the extra 10,100 sq ft is affordable floor area meeting the 60% AMI rules. Because the lot has 10,000 sq ft or more of affordable floor area, at least 20% of it (2,020 sq ft) must be at or below 40% AMI (ZR 23-22, 27-111). Height limits for qualifying affordable housing in R7A come from ZR 23-432.

UAP vs Mandatory Inclusionary Housing

MIH applies only in mapped Mandatory Inclusionary Housing areas (listed in ZR Appendix F) and is required there. UAP is the optional preference everywhere else in R6 to R10. A UAP development is, by definition, outside an MIH area (ZR 27-111).

UAP FAQ

Related pages

• What City of Yes changed
• R6A zoning
• R7A zoning
• R8 zoning
• Town Center and TOD