Here’s something most American can probably agree on: housing is expensive. Whether renting or buying, America is experiencing an affordability crisis. What can we do? - Amber & Katie
Classic budgeting wisdom is that housing costs should make up no more than 30% of a household budget. When the proportion of income going to housing is over 30%, then it is no longer deemed “affordable,” and the household is considered “cost burdened.” In 2018, nearly half of all renters--more than 20 million Americans--were considered cost burdened. One quarter of Americans spend fully half their income on housing.
Fewer people are buying homes, which increases competition among renters. Millennials are more likely to rent than own homes. With home prices higher than ever--plus higher burdens of student debt--only 25% of millennials have enough savings for a down payment. This sends an influx of middle- and high-income renters into competition in the rental market. The number of renters across all ages has increased by 15% since 2009.
Now the squeeze is on low-income renters. Only one in four families who technically qualify for housing assistance programs (like Section 8 vouchers) receive that help. Most fend for themselves in the private rental market where only 25% of units are considered low-cost. Only 6% of low-income renters are in public housing buildings--the waiting lists for which can be years or even decades long. Many renters are one emergency or misstep away from eviction or homelessness; data shows that parents with kids and victims of domestic violence are especially at risk. Homelessness is up 3% nationwide last year, largely driven by huge increases in high-cost housing markets like California.
There are just not enough housing units for everyone in cities. Developers build for the upper end of the market in expensive neighborhoods. Land-use zoning regulations tend to result in single-family homes more frequently than cheaper multi-family builds. Opposition to density, often led by communities themselves, impedes construction that would include affordable units and diversify the market’s offerings.
When households are cost-burdened by housing, they have less to spend on food, healthcare, childcare, education and transportation. There aren’t comfortable margins in many budgets because of this bottom line: wages and earnings growth have not kept up with the rise in housing costs for the last 20 years.
People’s Action is a national network of state and local grassroots groups working together for justice in housing, environment, education and health. For example, in 2019 People’s Action co-created the #NoCuts Coalition with over 100 community groups from around the country after the Trump administration proposed cutting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget--which funds public housing assistance--by $7 billion. The coalition held rallies across the U.S., lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill together, and demonstrated outside HUD offices to raise awareness. The result? There were no cuts to the department’s budget.
People’s Action is now working on the Homes Guarantee campaign and the mission of every person in the U.S. to have “safe, accessible, sustainable, and permanently affordable housing.” On the agenda: winning investments in social and public housing, protecting renters and tenants, and stopping subsidies for luxury developers at the expense of investments in affordable housing. Learn more and get involved at homesguarantee.com.
Take a deeper dive and learn more:
Sociologist Matthew Desmond’s landmark 2016 book “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” gives voice to the heartbreaking and infuriating stories of renters and landlords struggling in the American housing system. Get the book or watch this briefer 2017 book talk for insights, stories and recommendations.
Read blogs with more in-depth analysis of housing issues by the National Housing Conference and Shelterforce.
Fight for national policy solutions:
Sign a letter calling on Congress to expand the national Housing Trust Fund - a relatively new measure to build and preserve affordable housing across the country.
Fight racial segregation in the housing system. Submit a comment by March 16 on a proposed new rule that would gut federal enforcement of the 1968 Fair Housing Act provisions that requires cities, counties, and states to use federal funds in ways that end racial segregation.
Engage at your state and local level:
Check out the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s rich database of affordable housing needs and organizers at the state level.
Be an energized, educated housing voter in 2020:
Find out what each presidential candidate is saying about affordable homes and homelessness through Our Homes, Our Votes: 2020. In particular, keep an eye out for candidates that intend to expand access to housing programs like vouchers.
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Let us know how you’ve taken action using #LinkedAndLoud.
References
The rent is too damn high — even for middle-income Americans | MarketWatch
Report: America’s Rental Housing 2020 | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
The Great Affordability Crisis Breaking America | The Atlantic
The U.S. Housing Crisis Is Making Its Way to the Heartland | Bloomberg News
The American Dream Is Turning Into A Nightmare For Millennials | Safehaven
How zoning and regulations can produce barriers to housing affordability | Mountain Democrat
Homelessness Up Nationwide After Spikes in California and Elsewhere | Next City
Meet the Rising New Housing Movement That Wants to Create Homes for All | The Nation
Everything You Think You Know About Housing Is Probably Wrong | The New York Times
What an Affordable Housing Moonshot Would Look Like | Slate
House Passes Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $15, a Victory for Liberals | The New York Times
Image from National Apartment Association
Linked & Loud illuminates complex problems and connects readers with the individuals and organizations working to solve them. Each week, we go beyond horrifying headlines to empower readers to take progressive action.