Washington, D.C. — A growing number of Americans are unable to find housing they can afford. With more homeowners spending at least 30 percent of their household income on housing costs, they are increasingly struggling to keep up with costs—and the number of renters who face cost burdens is also at an all-time high. This affordability crisis is rooted in inadequate production of new housing units.
Two new reports from the Center for American Progress offer solutions to the housing affordability crisis: The first report provides a set of dual-track policy actions to increase housing supply and reduce housing cost burdens, while the second report discusses the potential of converting commercial properties into residential use to increase housing supply. These reports offer a framework of policies that provide both near-term relief for acute problems and sustainable support for housing production and operating costs.
Some of the solutions in these reports include:
- Increasing rental assistance to low- and moderate-income (LMI) renters by expanding assistance through the Housing Choice Voucher program
- Providing rental assistance to LMI renters in existing low-income housing tax credit units, where almost 40 percent of tenants are cost burdened despite past federal development subsidies
- Converting the income tax deductions for LMI homeowners’ mortgage interest and property taxes to income tax credits
- Providing direct federal funding to state and local governments to fund the construction of affordable rental units and homeownership units that are affordable to LMI families
- Increasing incentives for state and local jurisdictions to reform zoning and land use rules to permit more multifamily and modular housing construction
- Reforming and expanding the current Housing Choice Voucher system to serve more families with subsidies that are more readily available and acceptable to public and private landlords
- Determining when conversion of commercial property into residential property is appropriate for local real estate markets—and making conversion economically feasible
“Solving the housing affordability crisis will require attention to the unique needs of local communities and will require a dual-track policy framework,” said Doug Turner, senior fellow for housing policy at CAP and author of the first report. “The housing cost squeeze that Americans face has been decades in the making. Policymakers need to take steps now to relieve current housing cost burdens while simultaneously investing in reforms to spur affordable housing development to expand supply.”
Read the reports:
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].