Limited Equity Housing Definition

(Also referred to as limited equity housing cooperatives, or LEHCs.) An arrangement designed to encourage low- and moderate-income families to buy their own place to live. The housing is offered for sale, usually by a nonprofit organization, at an extremely favorable price with a low down payment. Typically the housing has been built (or an apartment building has been converted) for multiple families, who then share common areas and some decision making. The catch is that, upon selling, the owner gets none of the profit if the market value of the unit has gone up. Any profit returns to the organization that built the home, which then resells the unit at an affordable price.