Let Your Voice Be Heard for Affordable Housing

Millions of Americans are searching for a decent, affordable home, yet they face an uphill battle. The private market is too expensive for households with limited resources, and housing assistance is scarce. According to Out of Reach 2016, a full-time worker working 40 hours a week for all 52 weeks of the year needs to earn $20.30 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home, or $16.35 an hour just to afford a one-bedroom. This is significantly higher than the earnings of the lowest wage workers.

And federal housing assistance programs are not funded sufficiently to provide help to everyone who needs it. For the millions of Americans who qualify for assistance, only one out of four currently receive it. A recent National Public Radio story explained, “Most social programs in America work like this: if you qualify for assistance, you get it. Food stamps, Medicaid, and the Earned Income Tax Credit all have their own criteria. But if you pass the threshold and fill out the application, the help is (supposed to be) yours. With housing though, that’s not how it works. There are far more people who qualify than actually receive help.”

If you are unable to secure a decent, affordable home, you are not alone. According to a recent report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there are only 3.2 million affordable and available rental homes for the nation’s 10.4 million extremely low income renter households, whose income is less than 30% of their area’s median income. This is a national shortage of 7.2 million units. The shortfall ranges from 7,820 units in Vermont to more than 1 million units in California.

A recent Harvard study shows that the need for affordable housing will grow over the next ten years if current demographic trends continue and rent increases continue to outpace wage growth. The most conservative projections show that the number of severely cost burdened renter households spending more than half of their income on housing costs will increase by 11% by 2025; from an estimated 11.8 million today, to 13.1 million. Clearly, the supply of affordable housing must grow to meet this demand.

The outlook may seem grim, but with the right policy changes, we can ensure that every American has a decent home. The National Low Income Housing Coalition is just one of many organizations fighting for housing policies that better serve those with the greatest housing needs. But, we cannot do it alone. Successful advocacy relies on participation by every individual who can contact their Congressional representative to tell them about the need for better housing policies.

First, Congress should increase funding for the national Housing Trust Fund (HTF). Funds placed in the HTF go directly to states for building crucial new units of affordable housing. At least 75% of these funds must serve extremely low income households and at least 90% of funds must support rental housing. Greater funding of the HTF means states will have more money to build affordable units near you.

Additional funding can come through reform of the mortgage interest deduction (MID). Homeowners can currently deduct the mortgage interest they pay from their income when they file their federal tax return. Reducing the amount of a mortgage that qualifies for the deduction from the current $1 million to $500,000 would save $95 billion over ten-years that could go to the HTF. Switching the MID from a deduction to a tax credit would save another $118 billion over ten years. A tax credit could be taken by all homeowners with a mortgage, regardless of their income, while tax deductions are predominantly taken by higher income homeowners. The Pathways Out of Poverty Act of 2015 (H.R. 2721) and The Common Sense Housing Investment Act (H.R. 1662) would both make these crucial changes to the MID to increase funding for public housing, Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), and the HTF. Sixty percent of the savings from MID reform would go to the HTF.

Second, Congress should support Maxine Waters’ Bill (D-California), “The Ending Homelessness Act of 2016” (H.R.4888), which would provide $1 billion annually for the national HTF in perpetuity, as well as $50 million a year for project based rental assistance for HTF units. The bill would also dramatically increase resources for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance grants and Housing Choice Vouchers.

Third, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (S. 2962), introduced on May 19th by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), would increase the LIHTC program by 50%. LIHTC is the primary program used by developers today to build affordable housing. If passed, this legislation would create and preserve 1.3 million affordable units over the next 10 years. Further steps, such as adding a 50% basis boost for projects serving extremely low income households, should be taken to ensure that greater LIHTC funding is directed towards housing for people with the greatest need.

Much work also needs to be done at the state and local level. States and local jurisdictions need to ensure that Housing Choice Voucher holders do not face discrimination from landlords. Countless stories indicate landlords in some locations refuse to rent to potential tenants with vouchers. This is unjust and should be prohibited. States or local jurisdictions must pass source of income (SOI) protections to ensure Americans receiving housing vouchers are not turned away from quality housing of their choice.

Representatives in Congress are there to serve us. And we all have a role to play in letting our needs be known. While the National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes, it’s up to all of us as citizens to let our voices be heard. And now is the time to assert the right for decent, affordable housing for all.

Join us in the fight for affordable housing. Contact your local Representative and voice your support for The Pathways Out of Poverty Act (H.R. 2721) and The Common Sense Housing Investment Act (H.R. 1662) for MID reform, The Ending Homelessness Act of 2016 (H.R. 4888) for greater funding for affordable housing, and the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016 (S. 2962) to increase funding to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.