The Complete Lack of Rental Housing Affordable to People Making Minimum Wage

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) released its annual "Out of Reach" report this week, putting the national housing crisis in "stark terms."

Jeff Andrews shares news of the report, and explains the key findings of the report thusly:  "According to the report, fair market rent for one-bedroom rentals in 99 percent of counties in the U.S. are not affordable—with affordable defined as 30 percent or less of a renter’s income—for a full-time minimum wage worker…"

Andrews adds more layers to the report's description of the lack of affordability around the country: "On the national level, affordable rent for someone living on Social Security income—roughly 8 million people—would be just $231 per month. For someone living on minimum wage it’s $377, and for someone making the average renter wage, it’s $913. These amounts are all lower than the national average fair market rent for a one-bedroom—$970."

The "Out of Reach" report also offers a number of prescriptions to mitigate the crisis, according to Andrews, including increased funding to a few federal programs, like the Housing Trust Fund, the Housing Choice Voucher program, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, among other actions.

Tim Logan also picked up news of the new report, with a local perspective on the news from Boston and Massachusetts.