525 Cedar
525 Cedar St. Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
30 1BR, 16 2BR, 19 3BR
- Apartments
- 65
- Income-restricted
- 64
- Placed in service
- 2024
California
Tax credit apartments in Santa Cruz, CA
HUD's database lists 18 properties in Santa Cruz built or rehabbed with low-income housing tax credits: 1,305 apartments, 1,068 of them income-restricted. Rents in those units are capped while each property's affordability agreement runs, and you qualify by income; many properties still keep waiting lists.
Equal housing opportunity. Tax credit properties must follow the Fair Housing Act, which bars discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin, and they may not refuse an applicant because the applicant holds a Housing Choice (Section 8) voucher (IRC 42(h)(6)(B)(iv)). Properties HUD lists as senior housing may limit who lives there by age only as the Fair Housing Act's housing-for-older-persons exemption allows. To report housing discrimination, call HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
LIHTC Atlas does not own, manage or rent these apartments and does not take applications. Contact each property's management for availability, rents and income rules. Listings come from HUD's database and may be out of date.
Bienestar Plaza
1520 Capitola Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
26 1BR, 15 2BR, 16 3BR
- Apartments
- 57
- Income-restricted
- 56
- Placed in service
- 2023
Casa Del Rio Apartments / Santa Cruz Riverfront Ap
170 Blaine Street (Casa Del Rio) / 148 Blaine Street (Riverfront), Santa Cruz, CA 95060
59 1BR, 36 2BR, 8 3BR
- Apartments
- 103
- Income-restricted
- 102
- Placed in service
- 2021
East Cliff Village Apartments
1635 Tremont Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
HUD lists it as senior housing · 19 studio, 56 1BR, 1 2BR
- Apartments
- 76
- Income-restricted
- 75
- Placed in service
- 2015
El Centro
1110 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- Apartments
- 44
- Income-restricted
- 44
- Placed in service
- 1993
Garfield Park Village
721 Bay Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
HUD lists it as senior housing · 38 studio, 48 1BR, 9 2BR
- Apartments
- 95
- Income-restricted
- 84
- Placed in service
- 2015
Mission Gardens
90 Grandview St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
26 1BR, 16 2BR, 8 3BR
- Apartments
- 50
- Income-restricted
- 49
- Placed in service
- 2009
Monarch Village Apts
1280 Shaffer Rd, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
77 1BR, 8 2BR
- Apartments
- 206
- Income-restricted
- 83
- Placed in service
- 2003
Neary Lagoon Cooperative
81 Chestnut St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
23 1BR, 30 2BR, 42 3BR
- Apartments
- 95
- Income-restricted
- 94
- Placed in service
- 2014
Nueva Vista
136 Leibrandt Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
1 1BR, 18 2BR, 21 3BR, 8 4BR
- Apartments
- 48
- Income-restricted
- 47
- Placed in service
- 2003
Ocean Street Apartments
350 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
16 1BR, 18 2BR, 29 3BR
- Apartments
- 63
- Income-restricted
- 62
- Placed in service
- 2021
Pacific Avenue Apts
1010 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
24 1BR
- Apartments
- 112
- Income-restricted
- 23
- Placed in service
- 2004
Riverwalk Apartments
110 Lindberg Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
4 1BR, 7 2BR, 10 3BR
- Apartments
- 21
- Income-restricted
- 20
- Placed in service
- 2014
Riverwalk Apts (Santa Cruz)
110 Lindberg St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
- Apartments
- 21
- Income-restricted
- 20
- Placed in service
- 2014
St. Stephens Senior Housing
2510 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
4 studio, 32 1BR, 4 2BR
- Apartments
- 40
- Income-restricted
- 39
- Placed in service
- 2016
Sycamore Street Commons And La Playa Apartments
125 Sycamore St And 216 Leibrandt Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
HUD lists it as senior housing · 16 1BR, 21 2BR, 26 3BR, 5 4BR
- Apartments
- 68
- Income-restricted
- 67
- Placed in service
- 2022
Tannery Artist Lofts
1030 River St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
14 studio, 16 1BR, 28 2BR, 42 3BR
- Apartments
- 100
- Income-restricted
- 99
- Placed in service
- 2009
Water Street Apartments
708 Water Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
22 1BR, 19 2BR
- Apartments
- 41
- Income-restricted
- 40
- Placed in service
- 2019
Source: HUD's national LIHTC database (LIHTCPUB, revised May 28, 2026; projects placed in service through 2024). Properties a state agency has flagged as no longer monitored are left out; properties placed in service after 2024 are not in HUD's database yet.
How tax credit apartments work
Each income-restricted unit has a maximum rent set from the area's income limits: gross rent, including a utility allowance for tenant-paid utilities, can't go above 30% of the income limit for the unit's size. The rent doesn't change with your own income, so a household near the bottom of the range pays the same rent as one near the top. That's different from public housing or a voucher, where you pay a share of what you earn.
To qualify, your household's income has to be at or under the limit the unit is set at, usually 50% or 60% of the area median, and up to 80% in some buildings. Management checks income, and assets, when you apply. A household made up entirely of full-time students generally can't qualify, with exceptions in IRC 42(i)(3)(D) such as single parents and married students filing jointly. More on qualifying.
You can apply with a Housing Choice voucher, and the property can't turn you down because you have one.