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Monterey County · Building on your lot

Affordable units in new housing (inclusionary) in Monterey County

Monterey County's own rules on affordable units in new housing (inclusionary), with the code text for every value.

Each rule below links to the section of the Monterey County Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Monterey County's code says

Monterey County code What Monterey County's code adds
Exemptions
  • The owner-occupied unit is not counted in applying the inclusionary requirements.
    Applies: Owner-occupied development of 4 units or less.
    § 18.40.060 · code text
    The owner-occupied unit in an owner-occupied development of four units or less shall not be counted in applying the requirements of this Chapter.
Fee instead of units
  • Eligible agricultural subdivisions may pay a fee in lieu of supplying units.
    Applies: Agricultural subdivisions on land zoned Farmlands, resulting in parcels of at least 40 acres, with the stated agricultural or financing purpose documented.
    § 18.40.060 · code text
    These eligible agricultural subdivisions may comply with the inclusionary requirements by paying a fee in-lieu of supplying units pursuant to Section 18.40.090.
  • One-fifth of the difference between affordable price at 100% of median income (4 persons) and a market-rate 3-bedroom home's cost.
    Applies: For each market-rate unit in the residential development.
    § 18.40.090 · code text
    for each market-rate unit in the residential development, the fee shall be one-fifth (⅕) of the difference between the affordable sales price for a four-person household at one hundred (100) percent of median income and the cost of developing an average market-rate three-bedroom home.
  • A fee for the fractional unit: the in-lieu fee amount under Subsection D multiplied by the fraction.
    Applies: Residential developments required to build fractions of a unit.
    § 18.40.090 · code text
    Residential developments required to construct fractions of a unit under this Chapter may pay an in-lieu fee in an amount corresponding to the fractional unit, computed by multiplying the in-lieu fee amount determined under Subsection D below by the fraction.
Projects it applies to
  • 5 or more units or lots
    § 18.40.060 · code text
    All residential development consisting of five (5) or more units or lots in the County shall provide inclusionary units on-site or off-site, except that a fee may be paid in-lieu of providing fractional units and in other circumstances specified in Section 18.40.090.
  • 3 or 4 additional units or lots must provide inclusionary units on or off site, or pay an in-lieu fee.
    § 18.40.060 · code text
    All new residential development consisting of three (3) or four (4) additional units or lots in the County shall provide inclusionary units on-site or off-site, or pay a fee in-lieu pursuant to Section 18.40.090.

Who this affects

HomeownersContractorsDesigners

Frequently asked questions

Does Monterey County require affordable units in new housing?

Monterey County's code: The owner-occupied unit is not counted in applying the inclusionary requirements. (Owner-occupied development of 4 units or less.) (§ 18.40.060); Eligible agricultural subdivisions may pay a fee in lieu of supplying units. (Agricultural subdivisions on land zoned Farmlands, resulting in parcels of at least 40 acres, with the stated agricultural or financing purpose documented.) (§ 18.40.060).

General information, not legal advice.

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