The cost of renting a place to live in San Diego can surpass $2,000 a month, an amount that most San Diegans earning minimum wage simply cannot afford.
It is estimated that in San Diego County, families allocate as much as 60 percent of their income to paying rent, keeping thousands of mostly Latino families in poverty.

“There are many young Latinos, as well as many Hispanic monolingual, recently-immigrated families who could qualify for lower rents,” shared Venus Molina, a member of Council District 4 Representative Myrtle Cole’s staff.

To address the issue faced by low-income residents, Chelsea Investment Corp built the Ouchi Courtyards apartment complex. It offers units for as low as $500 to $600 a month, well below the average rental price in San Diego County.

The complex is located at 5003 Imperial Avenue, an area where close to 55 percent of residents are Latino.

“This is a great opportunity for them, because many times their need to have access to transit while living comfortably is not considered,” stated project collaborator Rosina Gallego.

Ouchi Courtyards is comprised of 45 two and three-bedroom units, with seven apartments set aside for people with developmental disabilities. At the complex, residents will enjoy amenities such as laundry facilities, a community room, a playground, and barbecues.

SAN DIEGO RENT IS EXPENSIVE

San Diego is the 12th most expensive place to rent in the U.S., according to the National Rent Report published by Zumper, an apartment rental website.
The same report ranks San Francisco, New York, San Jose, Boston, and Washington, D.C. as its top-five most expensive rental markets.

For San Diego, the website lists the average rental price for a one-bedroom at $1,600 a month, and $2,200 for a two-bedroom.

The city with the lowest rent listed on its Top-100 was Toledo, Ohio, at $460 for a one-bedroom and $580 for a two-bedroom unit.
San Francisco remains at number one, coming in at $3,370 for a one-bedroom and $4,500 for a two-bedroom.