text: what is affordable housing?   affordable housing is sometimes referred to by gov't when they are approving a building project.  when a developer wants to build a mega something and the town needs more housing for the lower income population they will require "affordable housing units" to be built.  it is not uncommon to set aside a few units in luxury buildings as "affordable housing".  while regular rent could be $2000 per month, the units set aside for low income might be half that.  there would be a criteria which would vary from city to city or state to state as to what 'low income' is.  there is not a federal standard.