NLIHC submitted a statement emphasizing the need for more affordable rental housing for the upcoming U.S. House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing, “Building Our Future: Increasing Housing Supply in America,” to be held March 4 at 2 pm ET.
NLIHC’s statement focused on the need for more affordable supply for renters with the greatest needs – those with extremely low-incomes who are at risk of housing instability and homelessness. Research from NLIHC’s The Gap report shows that there is a shortage of 7.3 million affordable and available homes for extremely low-income (ELI) renters. As a result, 74 percent of ELI renters are severely cost-burdened, paying over half of their income on housing. NLIHC’s Out of Reach report shows that 14 of the 20 largest occupations in the United State pay median wages less than the one- or two-bedroom housing wage (the wage needed to afford a modest apartment at fair market rent).
In the statement, NLIHC encouraged Congress to take action to increase the supply of homes affordable to ELI renters including expanding the Housing Trust Fund; addressing the over $90 billion backlog of capital needs at public housing properties, expanding and reforming the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, and fully funding and staffing HUD programs. The hearing will probably include a discussion of the affordability needs of middle-income households. NLIHC supports zoning reforms that reduce restrictions on construction, which typically address housing needs for middle-income households rather than ELI households. NLIHC opposes subsidies for the construction or substantial rehabilitation of homes for middle-income renters, such as a middle-income housing tax credit. Read more about why these proposals are wasteful and misguided here.
Information about the hearing, witness list, and a link to watch the hearing can be found here. Read NLIHC’s full statement here.