Stuck in the middle with few housing options

So for now, they are stuck in their one-bedroom, third-floor walk-up apartment in the Sunset District, with twin boys who were born in January and a 2-year old girl. When one is crying, it’s hard to get the others to sleep, but the hardest part is taking the kids out. Their landlady won’t allow strollers in the lobby, so they have to lug a double and a single up and down two flights of stairs or put their daughter on a leash — something Montoya thought she’d never do.

Housing is expensive for everyone in the Bay Area, but it’s especially challenging for middle-income buyers. Most new supply is at the high or low end. The gap in between is often called “the missing middle.”

Between 2007 and 2015 in the nine Bay Area counties, permits were issued for a total of 27,451 units (rental and for sale) for low- and very-low income people making up to 80 percent of each area’s median income, according to data from the Association of Bay Area Governments. These are generally deed-restricted units with income limits.