Rhode Island § 45-24-75 - Zoning Ordinances

§ 45-24-75. Accessory dwelling units which may be counted towards low- and moderate-income housing.

(a) Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) may be counted towards meeting a municipality’s affordable housing goals pursuant to chapter 53 of this title, and may be counted towards the ten percent (10%) of the year-round housing units reported in the census as required by § 45-53-4, if the tenant of the unit has a one-year lease and the following conditions are met:

(1) The ADU is occupied by a household whose income does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the area median income (AMI), adjusted for family size, as determined and certified by the selected approved monitoring agent; or

(2) The ADU is leased to a household utilizing a publicly subsidized rental assistance voucher that limits income to no more than eighty percent (80%) of the AMI, evidence of which is provided to the selected approved monitoring agent; and

(3) The cost of rent, heat, and utilities other than telephone, cable, and internet, based on the number of the bedrooms in the unit does not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the gross annual household income for a household with eighty percent (80%) or less of area median income, adjusted for family size as certified by the selected approved monitoring agent.

(b) Accessory dwelling units eligible to be counted toward a community’s affordable housing goal under this section shall be counted as one-half (0.5) units each in every year for which documentation required to establish eligibility under subsection (a) of this section is provided annually to Rhode Island housing by the selected approved monitoring agent.

(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, an accessory dwelling unit may not be counted toward meeting a municipality’s affordable housing goal if the tenant is a claimed dependent on another individual’s most recent tax filing unless one or more of the following applies:

(1) The claimed individual is an adult dependent receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Income; or

(2) The claimed individual has documentation from a licensed medical professional certifying to the claimed individual’s disability status; or

(3) The claimed individual is a person with a developmental disability as defined in § 40.1-1-8.1.

(d) ADUs serving eligible households as described in subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall be included in the next annual count of low- and moderate-income units following submittal of eligibility documentation to Rhode Island housing at one-half (0.5) units each.