Mission Statement

The Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) works to preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing; maintain existing housing in a safe and sanitary condition; preserve the safety and quality of residential and commercial areas; ensure fair and equitable relations between landlords and tenants; and support the success of common ownership communities - all with a focus on reducing racial inequities and climate change impacts.

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY27 Operating Budget for the Department of Housing and Community Affairs is $77,729,110, a decrease of $5,971,529 or 7.13 percent from the FY26 Approved Budget of $83,700,639. Personnel Costs comprise 26.09 percent of the budget for 133 full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 127.00 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses and Debt Service account for the remaining 73.91 percent of the FY27 budget.

In addition, this department's Capital Improvements Program (CIP) requires Current Revenue funding.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

• An Affordable, Welcoming County for a Lifetime
• A Greener County
• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY26 estimates reflect funding based on the FY26 approved budget. The FY27 and FY28 figures are performance targets based on the FY27 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY28.

Initiatives

• Provide $102.0 million to support the production and preservation of affordable housing units in Montgomery County. This investment includes allocating $86 million and incorporating $10.1 million in FY26 loan repayments into the Affordable Housing Acquisition and Preservation CIP project, $2.0 million for the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund, an additional $128,000 in loan repayments for the Nonprofit Preservation Fund, $2.2 million to revitalize Common Ownership Communities through the CIP-supported Common Area Assistance Loan Fund, and $1.62 million for the Montgomery Housing Initiative (MHI) Fund.

• Allocate $52.3 million to the Montgomery Housing Initiative Fund to sustain programs and projects dedicated to developing and preserving affordable housing and related services. This funding will support renovation of distressed housing, development of units for residents with special needs, rental assistance and rapid rehousing initiatives, homelessness prevention and relocation assistance, homeowner downpayment assistance and counseling, home accessibility improvements, services under the Building Neighborhoods to Call Home and Housing First programs, and the development of mixed-income housing.

• Add one position to the Multifamily program to enhance capacity for evaluating project proposals and negotiating Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements that implement affordability requirements for eligible housing development projects.

• Add one position in the Office of Landlord and Tenant Affairs for implementation of legislative mandates required in Bill 31-25 to provide tenants with timely eviction notification.

• Increase funding for fair housing testing by leveraging Federal resources to identify and assess evidence of housing discrimination within Montgomery County.

• Provide $7.07 million in the Housing Initiative Fund for required debt service to support leveraging additional resources for the Housing Production Fund, which finances construction of mixed-income, mixed-use developments.

• Continue funding to support implementation and enforcement of regulatory compliance related to housing, solid waste, and weeds/rubbish standards. This includes annual targeted inspections in areas requiring concentrated code enforcement for troubled properties, increased inspection frequency for at-risk properties, and triennial inspections for compliant properties.

• Continue funding to support the Rental Housing Division in administering rent stabilization mandates, ensuring landlords receive a fair return on investment while strengthening tenant services through coordination between the Rent Stabilization Program and the Office of Landlord and Tenant Affairs.

• Maintain current rental housing licensing fees at FY26 levels and utilize projected revenue to support operations required for mandated services. This includes enhanced collaboration and technological improvements across Licensing and Registration, Code Enforcement, Landlord and Tenant Mediation, and Rent Stabilization programs.

• Maintain the $6.50 per-unit registration fee for Common Ownership Communities to continue providing technical assistance and regulatory guidance to distressed COCs and to administer the Common Area Assistance Loan Fund.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• The Moderately Prices Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program continues to generate new affordable units throughout the County. During FY25, the MPDU program generated 201 new MPDUs offered for sale (126 units) and rent (75 units).

• Launched an online application for the Focused Neighborhood Assistance program (FNA). Allowing the application to be easily accessed by the community affirms our commitment to open, accessible, and equitable neighborhood revitalization resources.

• The department, in partnership with the Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions department, developed and launched an innovative Housing Portal that enables landlords to register the rents and fees they are charging to enforce provisions of the County's rent stabilization law. In FY26, DHCA will further improve efficiency and customer experience by expanding this portal to incorporate other publicly-facing DHCA programs and functions.

• The Grants section executed and monitored twenty-five federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) totaling $660,000 for community-based public services in FY25. Services provided support to low-income residents in areas such as education, healthcare, job readiness, and housing. In addition, the Section provided similar support through other federal grants and multiple County grants.

• The Commission on Common Ownership Communities successfully closed 104 cases in FY25. Of those, 78 cases were closed before a hearing, representing an 82 percent success rate of all cases.

Program Descriptions

  Multi-Family Housing Programs

This program creates, preserves, and rehabilitates affordable multi-family housing units. This section provides funding to supplement rents through rental agreements, negotiates Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS), reviews and approves rental building sales through the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) program, and negotiates and completes loans to create or preserve...

  Affordable Housing Programs

This program oversees the creation, selection, and oversight of inclusionary affordable housing units. It primarily enforces Chapter 25A of the County Code to ensure that both rental and sale Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) are provided. The housing units produced are marketed at controlled prices, which makes them affordable to...

  Housing Code Enforcement

This program enforces Chapter 26 of the County Code, Housing Maintenance, by inspecting rental condominiums, multi-family apartments, and single-family housing to ensure safe and sanitary conditions; Chapter 48, Solid Wastes; and Chapter 58, Weeds, the County's residential weeds and rubbish codes. Approximately 80 percent of the single-family inspections result from...

  Grants Administration - Federal Programs

Staff provides management and oversight to ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements for Federal funding awarded to Montgomery County by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Community Development Block Grant, the HOME Investment Partnership Grant, and the Emergency Solutions Grant programs. Funds from these programs...

  Landlord-Tenant Mediation

The Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs (OLTA) is charged with informing the public of the general rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords and helping resolve disputes amicably, free of charge, without having to go through the District Court process. Landlord-Tenant enforces Chapter 29, Landlord-Tenant Relations of the Montgomery County Code,...

  Neighborhood Revitalization

This program provides planning and implementation for neighborhood revitalization in targeted areas. Activities include commercial revitalization (physical and economic) in both local retail centers and central business districts as well as assistance to address other community concerns, including issues related to housing and public services. Primary funding for these activities...

  Licensing and Registration

This program issues licenses to all rental housing (apartments, condominiums, and single-family) and registers all housing units within common ownership communities....

  Housing Development

This program provides management and oversight to support activities withing the housing division including single- and multifamily housing programs. In addition to oversight of the affordable housing and multifamily housing programs, Housing Administration also oversees downpayment assistance programs, the creation of new affordable housing initiatives, and tax abatement PILOTs....

  Administration

This program provides overall direction, administration, and managerial support to the Department. Activities include budgeting, financial management, asset management, personnel management and administration, program oversight, training, automated systems management, and policy/program development and implementation....

  Common Ownership Community Program

The Office of Common Ownership Communities (OCOC) is committed to providing owners, tenants, residents, boards of directors, and management companies of self-governing residential communities with information, assistance, and impartial dispute resolution programs that improve the quality of life in the community, strengthen the self-governing community structure, and enhance the value...

  Rent Stabilization

This program implements Bill 15-23 Landlord-Tenant Relations- Rent Stabilization which was enacted by the Montgomery County Council on July 18, 2023, and signed into law by the Montgomery County Executive on July 24, 2023. The program will ensure the implementation and compliance of all aspects of the rent stabilization law...