One of the advantages of living in DC is that the city offers subsidies for rent and even for purchasing apartments (condos) or townhouses for families with low to moderate income. These are new, high-quality units, as new apartment complexes and townhouse developments in DC are required by the city to allocate 8-10% of their units for affordable housing. To find an apartment in the IZU program for rentals or ADU for purchases, you need to meet income requirements, participate in an online course (two hours for rentals or eight hours for purchases) and win a lottery (but it's not too difficult).

After participating in the free online course, you'll enter the system and receive emails about available rentals or purchases. If you're interested, you can register for the lottery. If you win, it's important to act quickly and bring the appropriate documents right away. You don't need to be an American citizen (or even have legal status - at least before Trump😉), but you need at least one year of American tax documents, and preference is given to those who live and work in DC. It might sound complicated, but it's definitely possible and worth the effort. Families who meet the requirements receive more than $1,000 off in rent and pay less than half price for purchases. Good luck!

Here you can browse the available apartments: https://www.dchousingsearch.com/

Here you can read about the program: https://dhcd.dc.gov/service/inclusionary-zoning-iz-affordable-housing-program

Here you register for the rental course: https://www.frontdoor.dc.gov/iz-renters

Here you register for the purchase course: https://www.frontdoor.dc.gov/iz-buyers

And here is the income threshold table: