Affordable Housing Infrastructure Grant

Created in 2025 by the Utah Legislature, the program establishes a grant fund to support infrastructure for affordable housing. The grants are awarded to qualified public entities within a county of the first class (Salt Lake County).

Qualified public entities within Salt Lake County include: county and municipalities, public housing authorities, special service or improvement districts, and public transit districts.

Apply Here

Key Requirements

  • Affordable Housing Unit (Rental): A unit affordable to a household earning no more than 80% of the area median income (AMI).
  • Affordable Housing Unit (For Sale): A unit affordable to a household earning no more than 120% of the AMI. It must also be sold to an owner-occupier and have a deed restriction for at least five years.
  • Minimum Project Size: A grant proposal must support a project with at least 50 affordable housing units.
  • Funding Ratio: For every $20,000 of grant funding awarded, the supported infrastructure must result in at least one unit of affordable housing. A grant cannot be awarded if this requirement is not met.

Eligibility

  • Eligible Applicants: Grants are only awarded to public entities.
  • Geographic Location: The applicant must be a public entity within a county of the first class. Based on current Utah law, this is any county with a population of 1,150,000 or more, which currently only includes Salt Lake County.

Administration & Governance

  • Grant Board: The program is managed by the "Affordable housing infrastructure grant board."
  • Board Members:
    1. The executive director of the department (or designee).
    2. The executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) (or designee).
    3. A housing expert from the governor's office, appointed by the governor.
  • Staff Support: The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) provides staff support for the board and is responsible for creating the rules and processes for prioritizing and awarding grants.
    1. Draft Rules

Funding & Grant Process

  • Funding Sources: The grant money is sourced from:
    1. Bond proceeds from the Transportation Investment Fund of 2005.
    2. Appropriations by the Legislature.
    3. Any other contributions.
  • Grant Criteria: When reviewing proposals, the board will consider:
    1. The value and number of housing units the project will produce.
    2. The value of any matching contribution from the applicant.
  • Highway Infrastructure Rule: If a grant proposal includes highway infrastructure, the applicant must provide the necessary right-of-way as a minimum matching contribution.
  • Fund Disbursement: Grant money is released in two phases:
    1. First, funds are provided for planning and design after a detailed cost estimate is approved.
    2. Second, after planning is complete, funds are provided for construction based on a separate approved cost estimate.

Application Details

The Affordable Housing Infrastructure Grant is composed of two distinct applications, which are both accessed through the GOEO grant portal. The first is the Planning and Design application, and the second is the Construction application.

Qualified public entities that do not already have construction plans in place will be required to apply for funds related to Planning and Design. Once the Planning and Design process is completed and approved by the Affordable Housing Infrastructure Grant Board, approved applicants will be able to apply for funds through the Construction application.

If an entity has plans already completed, they will not need to apply for Planning and Design approval. However, existing plans will need to be reviewed and approved by the Affordable Housing Infrastructure Grant Board. Once approved, applicants will apply for funds through the Construction application.

If you’re new to GOEO grant programs, please complete the New Portal User Request to receive login credentials. This process takes about one business day.

If you already have login credentials, you can access the portal by clicking the “Apply Now” button at the top of the page.

Reporting

Grant recipients must provide a written report to the board by September 1 of each year. This report must include an accounting of how the grant money was used, the project's progress, and the number of affordable housing units completed or under construction.