7.2 Million Shortage on Housing for Low Income Households, reports NLIHC
The US has a shortage of 7.2 Million affordable and available rental homes, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). This exposes the need for more investments in homes for the lowest-income people.
The federal housing programs currently serve 5 million low-income families. This is obviously not enough to meet the fast growing demand. Adding to the concern are the Trump administration’s proposals to cut the housing budget and to revise the requirements on housing assistance.
At present, only 1 out of 4 households qualified for assistance get the support they need. This results to low-income unassisted families to pay more than half of their income on rent.
Who are the lowest-income renters?
1. Seniors;
2. People with disabilities; and
3. Individuals who are working, enrolled in school, or caring for a young child or for someone with a disability.
[bctt tweet=”The problem is not on not working hard enough. It is about jobs not paying enough for low-income people to afford the rent.” username=”strategyprops”]
NLIHC report shows that out of the 8 million “severely cost-burdened” low-income renter households, 84% are seniors, are persons with disabilities, or participate in the labor force. “The salaries of those working are too low to afford rent without assistance” says Andrew Aurand, vice president for research at NLIHC. The problem is not on “not working hard enough”. It is about “jobs not paying enough for low-income people to afford the rent.”
NLIHC suggests that Congress should increase investments in affordable housing and expand and improve the low-income housing tax credit.
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