San Jose to Subsidize Rent for City Employees at Downtown Apartment Complex

The city's new LIVE San Jose program aims to provide below-market housing for public sector workers.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 2:03am

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An impressionistic, softly focused urban street scene with blurred lights and silhouettes of pedestrians, conveying the atmospheric mood of a city housing initiative.The LIVE San Jose program aims to make downtown housing more accessible for the city's public sector workforce.San Jose Today

The City of San Jose has approved a new housing voucher program called LIVE San Jose that will provide subsidized rent for city employees at The Fay Apartments in downtown. The goal is to offer below-market rate units to eligible city workers making between 80-110% of the area median income in order to help address housing affordability challenges.

Why it matters

San Jose, like many other major cities, has struggled with high housing costs and employee retention, especially for public sector jobs. This program is an innovative approach to stabilize a downtown residential building while also giving city workers more affordable housing options closer to their jobs.

The details

The LIVE San Jose program will sublease 197 one- and two-bedroom units at The Fay Apartments and offer them to eligible city employees at below-market rates. The city plans to essentially make a small profit on the investment, which can then be reinvested into future housing projects. The program aims to prevent The Fay from potentially going into foreclosure and creating a ripple effect on the downtown residential market.

  • The San Jose City Council recently approved the LIVE San Jose program.
  • The city hopes to begin accepting applications for the program sometime in Spring 2026.

The players

The Fay Apartments

A downtown San Jose apartment complex that is collaborating with the city on the LIVE San Jose program.

Anthony Tordillos

A San Jose City Councilmember who represents District 3 and discussed details of the LIVE San Jose program.

Joseph Mauro

A policy analyst with the City of San Jose who plans to take advantage of the LIVE San Jose program to find more affordable housing closer to his job.

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What they’re saying

“Innovative approach here that will also give the city an ownership stake in the building. The hope is that the city can actually make a full return on its investment over the course of this program, even doing some interest on top of that and exit with a small profit, that then could be reinvested into future housing projects.”

— Anthony Tordillos, San Jose City Councilmember

“Having those units, and the city being able to turn around sublease them at lower than market rates. And the city subsidy actually ends up being pretty small per unit as they only end up paying the delta between the market rate rents and whatever below market rates we're charging to tenants.”

— Anthony Tordillos, San Jose City Councilmember

“I'm in that middle class, but I still would be considered rent-burdened by any metric. So, having that option where I can live somewhere that doesn't mean commuting two hours away and also doesn't mean living in a situation where I'm with four five other roommates. That's transformative.”

— Joseph Mauro, San Jose City Policy Analyst

What’s next

The city's housing department said they are still finalizing the details of the LIVE San Jose program, and if all goes well, they hope to begin accepting applications from eligible city employees in the spring.

The takeaway

San Jose's innovative LIVE San Jose program demonstrates how cities can take an active role in stabilizing the local housing market and providing more affordable options for public sector employees, which could help address both housing affordability and employee retention challenges.