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San Juan County approves $150,998.70 for senior and disabled rental subsidies
Summary
The San Juan County Council approved full funding for the 2026 Senior and Disabled Rental Subsidy Program after staff said 27 tenants applied and the request totaled roughly $151,000. Council authorized using document-recording fee backfill and ASH funds to cover the amount.
The San Juan County Council voted April 21 to fully fund the 2026 Senior and Disabled Rental Subsidy Program, approving $150,998.70 to cover all applicants.
Housing coordinator Ryan Page told the council the program received 27 applications from Orcas, Lopez and San Juan Island and that HUD fiscal-year-2025 income limits make many potential recipients eligible. "For a household of one, which is the most common household size for our program, you would have to make less than $23,000 per year," Page said, describing the program’s threshold and its goal of capping tenant rent at about 30% of income.
Page outlined funding sources for the award, saying staff had budgeted $120,000 for the program and recommended using roughly $141,000 of document-recording fee backfill dollars plus about $10,000 from the county’s Affordable and Supportive Housing (ASH) fund to cover the current request. He also told the council that 75% of this year’s clients live in rental housing that was built in part with San Juan County housing funds, increasing the pool of eligible units.
Council members asked how applicants were distributed across the islands; Page said roughly 21 applicants were from Orcas, two from San Juan and four from Lopez, a variance driven largely by where income-restricted apartments currently exist. He noted some complexes have alternate subsidies (for example, USDA apartment-wide subsidies) that reduce demand on the county program.
After discussion, a councilmember moved to approve funding for all applicants; the motion was seconded and carried. The council’s action authorizes the staff-requested budget amendment and the use of the specified county funding streams. Page told the council that with full funding the program would likely be essentially full for the year absent attrition.
The council did not change program eligibility or thresholds in the vote; councilmembers asked staff to monitor costs and explore additional funding sources in future years.
What happens next: Staff will proceed with the budget amendment already filed with the auditor’s office and implement payments to the property managers who apply on tenants’ behalf.
