Affordable Housing for Religious Institutional Lands (AHRIL) Program

This new Orange County program promotes the development of affordable housing on land owned by religious institutions — with extra flexibility in zoning requirements and a streamlined approval process.

Launched March 2026, Orange County’s Affordable Housing for Religious Institutional Lands (AHRIL) program is enabled by a new state law that supporters have informally dubbed the “Yes In God’s Backyard” (YIGBY) law. The law allows local governments to approve affordable housing on qualifying religious-institution property even if residential development would not normally be permitted under current zoning.

Orange County’s AHRIL program goes beyond state minimum requirements by mandating that 100% of units meet Orange County affordability standards. AHRIL is another strategy under the County’s Housing for All 10-Year Action Plan, advancing its goal of producing or preserving 11,000 affordable housing units by 2030.

Building Affordable Orange

To participate in the AHRIL program, religious institutions are to work with a developer first and then come to the County for permit processing. In conjunction with AHRIL, Orange County has launched Building Affordable Orange, a new training and technical assistance program designed to help nonprofit organizations and faith-based institutions develop affordable housing projects and expand housing opportunities for residents.

Delivered in partnership with the Florida Housing Coalition, the program provides participants with the tools, knowledge, and guidance needed to navigate the affordable housing development process and strengthen their capacity to serve the community. The five-part training series began on June 10 and will continue throughout the year.

Participants will receive training on affordable housing development, nonprofit housing programs, funding opportunities, regulatory requirements, and organizational capacity building. Organizations interested in pursuing designation as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) will also receive guidance on that process.

Register for an upcoming training session here: Meeting Registration - Zoom

For more information, email Affordable.Housing@ocfl.net

State's Live Local Option

In 2026, House Bill 1389 amended the Live Local Act to allow qualifying affordable housing development on religious lands regardless of underlying zoning if:

• The property is larger than three acres
• has contained a house of public worship for at least 10 years
• continues to operate as a house of public worship after the proposed development is constructed

Live Local guidelines require 40% of the residential units to be affordable, as defined in 420.0004. F.S. The units must be rental units and remain affordable for a period of at least 30 years.

Two paths forward

With Orange County’s AHRIL program and the state’s Live Local option, religious institutions now have two potential paths for developing affordable housing on their property.

Compare the guidelines and requirements for each option below: