Increase Access to Affordable Housing for Extremely Low Income Families
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Federal Policy Brief | 5 Dec 2009
Author: National Alliance to End Homelessness
Congress should increase access to affordable housing for extremely low income families by providing a $1 billion mandatory allocation for the National Housing Trust Fund this year and funding 200,000 new Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers in FY 2011.
Overview
Families become homeless primarily because of a dramatic shortage of affordable housing for
extremely low income households (households with incomes below 30% of median income). The
Housing Choice Voucher program and the National Housing Trust Fund will provide
communities with the tools to meet the needs of an increasing number of families who are
homeless or at risk of homelessness because of the recession.
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is the core federal program intended to assist
extremely low income people with the cost of housing, and it has been proven to prevent and
end family homelessness. Families who exit shelter with a housing voucher are 21 times more
likely to remain stably housed than comparable families exiting shelter without a subsidy.
The National Housing Trust Fund, which was enacted in July 2008, is the first federal program
to provide communities with funds to build, preserve, and rehabilitate rental homes that are
affordable primarily for extremely low income households. At least 75 percent of the funds for
rental housing must benefit extremely low income households or households with incomes
below the federal poverty line.
Need for more affordable housing:
- Today, there are only 6 million units of affordable housing accessible to households
earning 30 percent of the area median income, but over 9 million such households.
- The number of households estimated to be paying more than 50 percent of their
incomes toward housing is 17.9 million.
- Incomes are not keeping pace with rising housing costs. In 2009, the national housing
wage, or hourly wage needed to afford rental housing, increased to $17.84, beyond the
means of many low-income renters.
- Housing affordability is a particular problem for those who rely on disability income. In
2008, the national average fair market rent (FMR) for a one-bedroom unit consumed
more than the entire monthly SSI payment for people with disabilities.
Recommendation
Congress should provide a $1 billion mandatory allocation for the National Housing Trust Fund
this year and fund 200,000 new Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers in FY 2011.
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