Seattle's most important middle-income housing tool just got a major upgrade. Here's what changed, who qualifies, and where to find P7 homes today.
If you've been hunting for below-market rent in Seattle and kept running into dead ends, there's good news: MFTE Program 7 is now in effect, and it opens the door for more renters than ever before.
MFTE Program 7 legislation took effect on November 14, 2025. For renters, that means a new generation of income-restricted apartments is coming online — with higher income limits that finally reach the middle of the income spectrum where tens of thousands of Seattle households actually live.
At Roost, we list every available MFTE home in Seattle, including the newest P7 properties. Read on to understand what changed, whether you qualify, and how to find a home today.
What is MFTE?
The Multifamily Tax Exemption program is Seattle's primary tool for creating workforce housing. MFTE is a voluntary incentive program that developers can opt into. To qualify for participation in Seattle's 12-year program, buildings set aside at least 20% of the apartments for workforce housing. In exchange for this discount, the building receives a property tax exemption for the years it participates.
Seattle's MFTE program is the largest in the State of Washington, with over 6,600 MFTE homes currently part of the program. The City first adopted the program in 1998 and has reauthorized it six times since then.
The key concept is Area Median Income, or AMI. When a unit is designated at, say, 75% AMI, that means your household income must fall at or below 75% of the area median to qualify — and your rent is capped accordingly.
What changed: P6 vs. P7
Program 6 ran from roughly 2018 through November 2025. By many accounts, it overcorrected. MFTE's Program 6 lowered rent limits to low-income levels, and voluntary program participation by developers dropped by 50%. The AMI tiers in P6 were pushed down to a point where the program struggled to attract new development — meaning fewer restricted units got built in the first place.
Program 7 course-corrects. P7 brings AMI rent limits back to middle-income housing levels, returning the opportunity for renters who earn between 65–90% AMI to have access to a rent discount. This is what the voluntary program was always meant to do.
| Feature | Program 6 | Program 7 |
|---|---|---|
| AMI tiers for studios | Up to 60% AMI | Up to 90% AMI |
| AMI tiers for 1-bedrooms | Up to 70% AMI | Up to 90% AMI |
| AMI tiers for 2-bedrooms | Up to 85% AMI | Up to 90% AMI |
| Annual rent increase cap | 4.5% (hard cap) | 4.4% current cap (lower of OH limit or Commerce rate, max 10%) |
| Family-sized unit incentives | Standard distribution | Increased share of 2+ BR units required |
| Bedroom classification | Standard only | Standard + new "alternative" definition |
| Developer participation fee | Variable | $2,000 base + $200/unit, max $10,000 |
| Income recert schedule | Annual full doc | Years 1–2: self-cert; Year 3: full doc |
| Developer conversion option | N/A | P6 applicants could convert to P7 by Dec. 31, 2025 |
Sources: Seattle Office of Housing — MFTE Program 7, The Urbanist.
A few of these changes deserve a closer look.
The rent cap shift
For all new leases signed on or after November 14, 2025, P7 replaces the Program 6 cap of 4.5% on annual rent limit increases with a cap on unit-level rent increases that is the percentage change in rent limits that the Office of Housing publishes annually, or the percentage published by the Washington State Department of Commerce under RCW 59.18.700, whichever is lower, not to exceed 10%. The current P7 cap sits at 4.4%.
If you signed a lease before November 14, 2025 in a P6 building, your protections haven't changed. The 4.5% cap on the annual increase in rent and income limits is still in effect for tenants with leases in effect prior to November 14, 2025, if they live in an apartment building subject to an MFTE P6 agreement.
A simpler recertification process
After you complete the full income certification process when you move in, for the next two years you can sign a simple form stating your income — no need to gather all your documents again. In year three, you provide all supporting documents as you did when you moved in. This is a meaningful quality-of-life improvement for renters who have historically found annual recertification burdensome.
More family-sized homes
P7 incentivizes more family-sized homes by increasing the share of total units that must have two or more bedrooms to meet the 20% unit set-aside. This is a direct response to the reality that Seattle's affordable stock has skewed heavily toward studios and one-bedrooms.
2025–2026 income limits (P7)
To qualify for an MFTE P7 unit, your household income must fall at or below the limit for your household size and the unit's AMI designation. These are the official figures effective November 14, 2025.
| Family size | 60% AMI | 65% AMI | 70% AMI | 75% AMI | 80% AMI | 85% AMI | 90% AMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $60,500 | $66,000 | $71,500 | $77,000 | $82,500 | $88,000 | $93,500 |
| 2 people | $69,135 | $75,420 | $81,705 | $87,990 | $94,275 | $100,560 | $106,845 |
| 3 people | $77,770 | $84,840 | $91,910 | $98,980 | $106,050 | $113,120 | $120,190 |
| 4 people | $86,405 | $94,260 | $102,115 | $109,970 | $117,825 | $125,680 | $133,535 |
| 5 people | $93,335 | $101,820 | $110,305 | $118,790 | $127,275 | $135,760 | $144,245 |
| 6 people | $100,265 | $109,380 | $118,495 | $127,610 | $136,725 | $145,840 | $154,955 |
Source: Seattle Office of Housing, Current Limits: MFTE Program 7 Rental Units, effective November 14, 2025.
2025–2026 rent limits (P7)
Rent limits reflect the maximum monthly rent a landlord can charge for a P7 unit, including fees and basic utilities, calculated at 30% of monthly income for the standard assumed household size. These are the official published figures.
| Unit size | 60% AMI | 65% AMI | 70% AMI | 75% AMI | 80% AMI | 85% AMI | 90% AMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio (0-BR) | $1,650 | $1,787 | $1,925 | $2,062 | $2,200 | $2,337 | $2,475 |
| 1-Bedroom | $1,767 | $1,915 | $2,062 | $2,209 | $2,357 | $2,504 | $2,651 |
| 2-Bedroom | $2,121 | $2,297 | $2,474 | $2,651 | $2,828 | $3,004 | $3,181 |
| 3-Bedroom | $2,451 | $2,655 | $2,859 | $3,063 | $3,268 | $3,472 | $3,676 |
| 4-Bedroom | $2,734 | $2,962 | $3,190 | $3,418 | $3,646 | $3,873 | $4,101 |
Source: Seattle Office of Housing, Current Limits: MFTE Program 7 Rental Units, effective November 14, 2025. Always confirm current limits with the property directly. See Income & Rent Limits for the latest figures.
Why this matters for middle-income renters
If an affordable unit is set at 60% AMI or below, that means a single-person household cannot make more than $60,500 annually. What if you earn $70,000 or $80,000? Instead of a discounted rent unit targeted at your middle-income bracket, you need to try and afford market-rate rent.
That gap is exactly what P7 closes. For the first time since P6 went into effect in 2018, a household earning up to $99,000 a year has a real path to a below-market apartment in Seattle through MFTE. That's teachers, nurses, tradespeople, early-career tech workers, and thousands of other households who make too much to qualify for subsidized housing but not enough to comfortably absorb Seattle's market rents.
The bigger picture:
Middle-income renters are also extremely cost burdened and should not be left behind. If P7 doesn't work well, then the property owners who have thousands of units in the program now won't elect to renew at the end of the 12-year time horizon. That means an immediate rent increase for thousands of renters and a massive loss of middle-income housing for the city. Getting P7 right isn't just about new renters — it's about protecting the renters already in the program.
See it in action: Tanager
Tanager is one of the newest P7 properties now listed on Roost. Tanager offers income-restricted homes across multiple bedroom types under P7 AMI tiers — the kind of real, below-market housing that P7 was designed to create.
You can view current availability, income requirements, and contact information directly on the Tanager listing at Roost. No middleman. No phone tag. Just live data updated directly from the property's management system.
Find every MFTE + P7 home on Roost
Roost is built specifically for Seattle's income-restricted housing market. We pull live data directly from property management systems so you see accurate availability — not stale listings scraped from sites that weren't built for affordable housing.
Every MFTE property in Seattle, including all P7 buildings as they come online, is listed on Roost. You can filter by AMI level, bedroom count, neighborhood, and more.
If you're a property manager with an MFTE or P7 building and you're not yet on Roost, reach out to us. We make it easy to get your restricted units in front of qualified renters.
Sources: City of Seattle Office of Housing — MFTE Program 7 · The Urbanist — Op-Ed: MFTE Program 7 Widens Access and Participation · Seattle Office of Housing — Income & Rent Limits