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Inclusionary Housing

The current Inclusionary Housing Ordinance went into effect on April 1, 2025.

The City of Evanston recognizes that new housing is generally unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households, and the Inclusionary Housing Program seeks to address this.

Developments covered by the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance (IHO) are required to:

  • Provide housing units for low- and moderate-income households and/or
  • Contribute to the City's Affordable Housing Fund

The City provides the following incentives:

  • Waived and deferred building permit fees
  • Zoning bonuses and reduced parking requirements
  • Managed, centralized waitlist of potential tenants

Cook County provides meaningful property tax incentives (see below)

Potential Renters

Interested in renting an Inclusionary Housing unit? The City of Evanston created a centralized waitlist for all Inclusionary Housing rental units. This list is managed by Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH). When a unit becomes available, prospective tenants are contacted according to their position on the waitlist.

To apply for the waitlist, 

Note: A completed pre-application by an eligible household adds your name to the waitlist and is not an application for a specific unit. When a unit is available, those at the top of the waitlist can apply. Listings for current and/or recently available units can be seen here.

Questions about pre-application, eligibility, or the waitlist? Contact Anna at aviveros@cpahousing.org or 847-263-7478 Ext 16.

Developer Resources

Developments covered by the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance contain 7+ dwelling units. Examples include, but are not limited to:

  • New residential or mixed-use development
  • Redevelopment that changes the tenure from rental to for-sale or for-sale to rental
  • Redevelopment that changes the number of bedrooms or size of dwelling units
  • Redevelopment that changes the use to residential
  • New residential component to existing development

To start the entitlement process:

The Cook County Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program:

  • Provides tax incentives to developments containing 7+ rental units
  • Incentives vary for 15%, 20% and 35% affordability
  • As a "low affordability community", developments in Evanston are eligible for the 20% tier
  • Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program
  • Tax Incentives Summary
  • IL Statute 15-178: Reduction in assessed value for affordable rental housing construction or rehabilitation
  • The Cook County Assessor's Office manages the program and determines eligibility
Categories always sorted by seq (sub-categories sorted within each category)
Documents sorted by SEQ in Ascending Order within category

Additional Resources

Legislative History

Note: This page provides a summary of the current Inclusionary Housing Program. Please confirm all rules and regulations in the Inclusionary Housing Ordinances above.

Content updated on 8/14/2026.