Want to find out more about how AHPAA as a tool to create more affordable housing in your community? Check out the FAQ below.

Please also email ahpaa@housingactionil.org for more information.

How does AHPAA work?

• Where can I go online to find out detailed information about AHPAA requirements?
• Which communities are considered Non-Exempt Local Governments (NELGs)?
• What needs to be included in a local affordable housing plan?
• Does AHPAA apply to Home Rule communities?
• Does AHPAA apply to housing that is for sale and for rent?
• Are there enforcement provisions?
• What does the “Appeal” in AHPAA refer to?
• What is the role of the State Housing Appeals Board?
• Will local plans be available online?

How can the public be involved in supporting AHPAA?

• What opportunities will there be for the public to have an impact on local affordable housing planning?
• How do I communicate with my local elected officials to express support for a strong, comprehensive plan?
• How can we prepare for the public hearing in our community?
• I don’t know what my community is doing regarding their affordable housing planning requirements under AHPAA. What should I do to find out?

Helpful Resources & Examples

• What are some examples of local governments that have done good planning to promote affordable housing?
• What are some examples of local community organizing efforts to support affordable housing?
• What are ways to respond to NIMBYism and other types of local opposition to affordable housing
• What are some good resources for data and other tools to create affordable housing?
• What assistance can municipalities get with creating affordable housing plans to comply with AHPAA?
• What assistance can community members get with AHPAA advocacy?

What if my community is exempt under AHPAA?

• Is less than 10% affordable housing a meaningful threshold to determine if a community has enough affordable housing?
• My community isn’t a Non-Exempt Local Government. Are there resources related to AHPAA that I can still use to advocate for more affordable housing where I live?
• Other than AHPAA are there other state and local level tools and resources to help develop affordable housing in any community, not just Non-Exempt Local Governments?

How does AHPAA work?

Where can I go online to find out more about the AHPAA requirements?

The Illinois Housing Development Authority’s website has information about the AHPAA requirements, an FAQ, and more online here. 

Which communities are considered Non-Exempt Local Governments (NELGs)?

IHDA’s current list of the 44 Non-Exempt Local Governments is available here.

What needs to be included in a local affordable housing plan?

Local plans need to include several components, including, but not limited to:

• The total number of units needed to get to the 10% affordable housing threshold.
• Identification of properties that can be used to create affordable housing–for rent or purchase.
• A choice of at least one of three goals to increase affordable housing: 15% minimum affordable units in all new developments or redevelopments; an increase of at least 3% in overall percentage of affordable housing in the community; and/or a minimum of 10% affordable housing community-wide.
• Identification of any housing market conditions and local government ordinances, including zoning and land use ordinances, that are obstacles to creating more affordable housing. This includes local government policies or practices that do not affirmatively further fair housing as defined in the federal Fair Housing Act.
• Proposed solutions to these obstacles and a timeline for implementation of the plan.

Does AHPAA apply to Home Rule communities?

Yes, an amendment to AHPAA passed in 2021 clarified that the state law applies to all municipalities with over 1,000 residents, including those with home rule. According to the 2023 Non-Exempt Local Government Handbook, “Home rule units are not categorically exempt from AHPAA. A municipality’s status as a home rule unit has no direct bearing on the municipality’s AHPAA exemption status” (p. 26, last updated 4/16/24).

Does AHPAA apply to housing that is for sale and for rent?

Yes, IHDA analyzes the affordability of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing to determine which local governments are non-exempt. The 2023 Affordability Charts and more information on how affordability rates are calculated are available here.

Local governments plans can focus on increasing the amount of both for sale and/or for rent affordable housing.

Are there enforcement provisions?

Non-Exempt Local Governments that do not submit an affordable housing plan or do not make a good faith effort to meet the criteria outlined in AHPAA may be referred to the Office of the Attorney General. According to IHDA, “The Attorney General may seek to enforce the act via an action for mandamus or injunction or by means of other appropriate relief.”

What does the “Appeal” in AHPAA refer to?

When proposed affordable housing projects are denied, AHPAA allows the Non-Exempt Local Government’s decision to be appealed if the local government has failed to meet the goals of their affordable housing plan or are otherwise out of compliance with the law. However, since the law’s inception, there has never been an appeal filed with the State Housing Appeals Board. Previously, only developers could file an appeal with the Board, but recent changes to AHPAA expanded who can file these types of appeals. This list now includes a person eligible to live in the proposed housing or a community-based housing organization.

What is the role of the State Housing Appeals Board?

The State Housing Appeals Board (SHAB) was created by AHPAA in 2005 to hear appeals that could be brought against a Non-Exempt Local Government for denial of an application for an affordable housing development. The 2023 update to AHPAA reduced barriers for membership on the State Housing Appeals Board, and we understand that efforts are underway to fill current vacancies on the SHAB, as well as update administrative rules that govern the SHAB.

More info on the SHAB is available at the Housing Appeals Board webpage and here on the IHDA site.

Will local plans be available online?

Yes. IHDA will publish plans on its website. This is a new requirement in state law.

How can the public be involved in supporting AHPAA?

What opportunities will there be for the public to have an impact on local affordable housing planning?

Good first steps include working with others to understand your community’s affordable housing needs, based on available data and our sources. While learning about the needs of your community, talk with your others about the importance of affordable housing and what local governments can do to support it. Connect with local civic or faith-based organizations to find common cause and work together to show support for affordable housing planning.Communicating with staff for your local government, as well as your elected officials, is a crucial first step, as well.

How do I communicate with my local elected officials to express support for a strong, comprehensive plan?

Call or email your city council member and mayor to let them know that you support affordable housing planning. Share what you have learned about AHPAA and the requirements of Non-Exempt Local Governments to submit a plan. Partner with your neighbors or other advocates to meet with your elected officials to ask about how they will comply with AHPAA.

Additionally, there is a new requirement in state law that there must be a public hearing on the affordable housing plan before it is adopted to provide comments and feedback. However, to best inform the plan, it will generally be more effective to start advocating for a strong plan before the draft is released.

How can we prepare for the public hearing in our community?

The purpose of the public hearing will likely be to respond to a draft plan, although it would generally be a good thing if your community holds multiple public hearings, including to get more feedback about local needs.

If the purpose of the public hearing is to review the draft plan, it’s important to understand what’s in the draft plan and your evaluation of the plan. For example, important questions to consider are:

• Does the plan meet the basic requirements in state law?
• Does the plan include specific action steps the local government will take to both remove obstacles to creating affordable housing and proactively promote the creation of affordable housing?
• Does the plan include a timeline for the actions it proposes?
• Does the plan address both affordable homeownership and affordable rental housing?
• Does the plan reflect what you feel are the most important needs and goals for the community?

Additional steps to take before the hearing include:

• Gather information about your community’s demographics and housing needs through projects like the CMAP’s Community Data Snapshots.
• Consult IHDA’s list of Non-Exempt Local Governments to find out how many affordable housing units your community has and how many are needed to reach the 10% threshold.
• Talk with your friends and neighbors about why affordable housing is important and necessary in all communities; prepare talking points about all the groups who benefit from affordable housing.
• Lift up positive examples of support for affordable housing in other communities.
• Obviously, local government officials will respond more favorably if there are a large number of individuals and organizations supporting a strong plan. In addition to community residents, others good potential allies include, but are not limited to, social service organizations, faith-based organizations and businesses interested in affordable housing options for their workforce.
• Unfortunately, it will also likely be necessary to prepare for “Not in My Backyard” (“NIMBY”) opposition and other types of opposition. See suggestions on how to constructively and effectively respond to opposition elsewhere in this FAQ.

All of these steps will be most effective if they are started at the beginning of your community’s planning process, so as to influence the plan that is presented at the public hearing.

I don’t know what my community is doing regarding their affordable housing planning requirements under AHPAA. What should I do to find out?

Depending on what stage the planning process is in, publicly available information will vary. A good place to start is by consulting your local government’s website to see what information is available for the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act. If you can’t find information online, try reaching out to your local village or city council member and/or the planning department or related agencies, boards and commissions. It will help create a good dialogue if you let people know from the outset that you are supportive of increasing the availability of affordable housing in the community.

Helpful Resources & Examples

What are some examples of local governments that have done good planning to promote affordable housing?

There are many communities that have done so, regardless or not of whether they are subject to AHPAA requirements.

Some of the common actions that local governments take to support affordable housing, include passing an inclusionary zoning ordinance to require that all or certain market rate housing developments include some affordable housing; creating local housing trust funds to help finance affordable housing; establishing or partnering with a community land trust; and including affordable housing as a priority in comprehensive plans. However, there are many more ways that local governments can and do support affordable housing.

For the purposes of this toolkit, we are providing links to a handful of examples to get a sense of the range of work that has been completed. However, there are many more positive examples out there.

• Geneva created this 2020 affordable housing plan after being on the 2018 list of Non-Exempt Local Governments. The resulting affordable housing development, Emma’s Landing, has 30 three-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom apartments.
• St. Charles was included in Homes for a Changing Region, a multi-jurisdictional housing study crafted through a partnership between the communities of St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, and North Aurora, in November 2014 through a grant from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). Following the 2016 adoption of this study as a guiding document, St. Charles passed an inclusionary zoning ordinance.
• In 2020, Northbrook approved a series of amendments to update its 2018 Affordable Housing Plan. These included an inclusionary housing requirement stipulating that a certain percentage of units in large developments must be affordable; more specific policies, goals, and standards on affordable housing and diversity; and the establishment of a local housing trust fund, a demolition tax, and a specific amount to be paid in lieu of providing affordable housing.
• In 2020, Highland Park amended its inclusionary zoning ordinance to provide greater clarity, certainty, and additional flexibility to encourage the development of affordable housing. In previous plans, Highland Park created the Inclusionary Housing Program, a Land Trust, and funding for the Housing Trust Fund.

What are some examples of local community organizing efforts to support affordable housing?

Here are some local organizing efforts and coalitions working to increase the availability of affordable housing–in communities subject to AHPAA requirements and elsewhere:

• Joining Forces for Affordable Housing: ​Joining Forces for Affordable Housing educates, organizes, and activates residents, municipalities, and the State of Illinois to embrace the changes and use the resources needed to ensure that everyone has access to housing they can afford. ​
• The Housing Task Force: The Housing Task Force was formed to address the lack of housing for individuals with mental illness in the north and northwest suburbs of Chicago.
• Action Ridge: Action Ridge is a non-partisan community-action organization centered in Park Ridge, Illinois. The group promotes inclusion, respect, equity, and the health of our planet, as well as specific actions and education in areas of member interest.
• DuPage United: DuPage United is an inclusive, non-profit, fiercely non-partisan organization whose members are civil society institutions: churches, mosques, synagogues, non-profit agencies, and associations. This mix of institutions have come together to form public relationships and to act together to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities. DuPage United engages in democratic action in the public arena.
• Lake County United: Lake County United is continually searching and identifying potential locations, developers, and sources of funding. Please email us if you have any input or suggestions about land, local needs, or potential opportunities. Quality and Supportive Housing have been a top priority since LCU was conceived in 2003.

What are ways to respond to NIMBYism and other types of local opposition to affordable housing?

A great deal has been written on overcoming “Not in My Backyard” attitudes and positions. This 2021 article in Shelterforce provides a good overview of useful strategies. This article from the National Low Income Housing Coalition Advocates’ Guide is also very good.

What are some good resources for data and other tools to create affordable housing?

Here are some selected national and local resources:

• CMAP Community Data Snapshots: The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s (CMAP) Community Data Snapshots summarize demographic, housing, employment, transportation, land use, revenue, and water data in northeastern Illinois. Each year, CMAP updates these snapshots for the region’s 7 counties (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will), 284 communities, and 77 Chicago community areas.
• US Census Bureau: Learn about America’s communities through the US Census Bureau’s data profiles.
• HUD User: Provides reliable, objective, and current information on housing and community development needs and market conditions.
• HUD Consolidated Plan: The Consolidated Plan is designed to help states and local entitlement jurisdictions, which receive federal allotments of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) resources and certain other federal funds, to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions.
• Local Housing Solutions: Local Housing Solutions is a one-stop housing policy platform with actionable tools and step-by-step guidance to help cities develop, implement, and monitor local housing strategies.
• Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook: Published in May 2024, The Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook: Solutions, Systems, Partnerships, is collaboration by the National League of Cities and the American Planning Association, is a resource designed to support communities in navigating their housing supply challenges. The playbook focuses on how communities can accelerate locally driven housing solutions to produce, preserve and improve the quantity of quality housing units.
• Housing Narrative Lab: The Housing Narrative Lab is focused on telling the story of who becomes homeless and why, and how safe and affordable housing is their first step toward stability and opportunity.
• National Low Income Housing Coalition Advocates’ Guide: Every year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition publishes the Advocates’ Guide to educate advocates of all kinds about the programs and policies that make housing affordable to low-income people across America.

What assistance can municipalities get with creating affordable housing plans to comply with AHPAA?

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus has a program to assist municipalities in housing planning, Homes for a Changing Region program, which helps municipalities identify solutions to their most pressing housing challenges, create a balanced mix of housing types, and serve the needs of multiple generations of residents and workers.

Additional programs include the Chicago Metropolitan Planning Agency’s annual call for communities to apply for technical assistance, including affordable housing plans necessitated by AHPAA.

What assistance can community members get with AHPAA advocacy?

Housing Action Illinois and other advocacy groups are supporting community members and neighborhood groups in educating neighbors and local government officials about the importance of affordable housing planning for vibrant communities and robust economic development. For more information, please email ahpaa@housingactionil.org or leave a message at 312-854-3372.

Additional groups that are working to support strong planning under AHPAA include Impact for Equity and Joining Forces for Affordable Housing. Feel free to contact them, too.

What if my community is exempt under AHPAA?

Is less than 10% affordable housing a meaningful threshold to determine if a community has enough affordable housing?

No, but it is the current law under AHPAA, which uses a definition of affordable housing that is specific to this state law. Every community in Illinois needs more affordable housing. Only 44 of Illinois’ almost 1,300 local governments are currently considered non-exempt under AHPAA, which does not reflect the actual need. Since AHPAA became law about 20 years ago, some communities have used AHPAA to create policies and resources to create more affordable housing and we want to see more communities do so.

My community isn’t a Non-Exempt Local Government. Are there resources related to AHPAA that I can still use to advocate for more affordable housing where I live?

Yes. Although AHPAA mandates that certain local governments do an affordable housing plan, any government can create and implement a plan. Local planning for affordable housing often arises from community members letting their elected officials and other key people know that the local government should be more responsive to this unmet need.

Other than AHPAA are there other state and local level tools and resources to help develop affordable housing in any community, not just Non-Exempt Local Governments?

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) was created by the state legislature in 1967 pursuant to the Illinois Housing Development Act as a self-supporting agency to finance affordable housing across Illinois. IHDA does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it does administer publicly funded programs on behalf of the state. Since its creation, IHDA has provided more than $20 billion to finance more than a quarter million affordable homes. IHDA accomplishes its mission through a number of funding sources including the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits, the allocation of federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and HOME Investment Partnership funds. Find out more at https://www.ihda.org.

Many county and local governments alo administer federal, state and/or local resources to support affordable housing. Two federal examples are Community Development Block Grant and the HOME Investment Partnership Program. Check with the county and local government for more information on these resources and how they are being used. It’s also important that community members provide feedback on how these funds are used.

Also, in 2021, omnibus state legislation went into effect to create and preserve affordable rental homes across Illinois, including provisions establishing new property tax incentives for owners of properties with 7 or more units to invest in their properties while keeping rents affordable. There are different incentive options with different levels of affordability, including an option that outside Chicago is only available in “low affordability communities,” where 40% or less of the total housing stock for a municipality is affordable, as determined by IHDA. Based on IHDA’s most recent analysis, released in December 2023, this is currently 146 of 1,298 municipalities, or about 11% of all communities. IHDA’s current statewide affordability list is available here. Find out more on Housing Action’s website here.