New NLIHC Report Reveals Housing Shortage and High Housing Cost Burdens for Extremely Low-Income Renters in Puerto Rico

By Esther Y. Colón-Bermúdez, NLIHC Research Analyst  

NLIHC released The Gap: Assessing the Affordability and Availability of Rental Housing in Puerto Rico on November 20. The report is NLIHC’s first analysis of the affordability and availability of rental housing in Puerto Rico. The report reveals a shortage of 54,915 affordable and available homes for extremely low-income renters. As a result, 63% of renters with extremely low incomes are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on rent. These renters account for nearly 86% of all severely cost-burdened renters in the territory.   

Sixty-six affordable and available homes exist for every 100 renter households with extremely low incomes in Puerto Rico. The San Juan metropolitan area, where more than 60% of Puerto Rico’s renters reside, has 65 affordable and available homes for every 100 renter households with extremely low incomes. For Puerto Rico, HUD defines extremely low-income renters as those with incomes below 50% of the area median income (AMI), as compared to incomes below the poverty guideline or 30% of AMI on the U.S. mainland. The significant share of rental homes with incomplete plumbing and kitchens underscores the habitability component of Puerto Rico’s housing shortage, in which many existing structures are unfit for tenants.  

Renters with extremely low incomes in Puerto Rico typically struggle to find full-time work, earn low wages, or have characteristics that limit their potential to earn income. They are more likely than other renter householders to be seniors, have a disability, be in school, or be single adult caregivers.  

Renters of Dominican and South American origins are disproportionately impacted by this housing shortage. Twenty percent of Dominican households are extremely low-income renters compared to 6% of Cuban households, for example. These disparities are the product of the historically greater economic barriers, legal obstacles, and stigma that Dominican migrants have faced on the island.  

The report makes clear that, as in the mainland U.S., Puerto Rico’s private market cannot adequately serve renters with the lowest incomes, and current levels of housing assistance remain insufficient. These limitations are compounded by the territory’s hardships and unique challenges, including its limited political autonomy, ongoing economic crises, and the growing threat of climate-related disasters.  

Addressing Puerto Rico’s severe housing cost burdens and housing shortage requires major federal investments. This includes making significant investments in federal housing programs, such as rental assistance, preserving the existing federally assisted affordable housing stock, and ensuring equitable and timely funding for housing and disaster recovery.  

Download The Gap: Assessing the Affordability and Availability of Rental Housing in Puerto Rico report in English here.   

Download The Gap: Assessing the Affordability and Availability of Rental Housing in Puerto Rico report in Spanish here.