Affordable Housing

Safe, sustainable, and affordable housing is fundamental to Americans’ economic security, yet housing construction has failed to keep pace with demand, leaving nearly half of rental households cost-burdened and homeownership increasingly out of reach.

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Economic Policy
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The Trump Administration’s War on Disability Report
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order.

The Trump Administration’s War on Disability

Executive actions, budget cuts, layoffs, and legislation—all enacted in the Trump administration’s first six months—have curtailed disability rights and services, including access to Medicaid and the right to free, appropriate public education.

State Estimates of Increases in Homeowner and Small-Business Borrowing Costs Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Article
The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol.

State Estimates of Increases in Homeowner and Small-Business Borrowing Costs Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

The “big, beautiful bill” passed by House Republicans in reconciliation is expected to significantly increase U.S. government debt, driving up interest rates for borrowers—including families taking out a mortgage or people growing their own businesses.

Natalie Baker, Sara Estep

Will the U.S. Housing Crisis Be Exploited for a Massive Public Lands Sell-Off? Report
The San Jacinto Mountains are seen from afar at the Big Morongo Wildlife Preserve in Morongo Valley, California, April 11, 2007.

Will the U.S. Housing Crisis Be Exploited for a Massive Public Lands Sell-Off?

Some politicians are using the nation’s housing affordability problems as a pretense to sell off public lands—an extreme agenda that puts America’s treasured lands and waters at risk without substantively addressing housing needs. A new initiative from the Trump administration publicly promises restraint, while specific proposals from Capitol Hill tell a different story.

Drew McConville, Doug Turner

Managing the Climate Change-Fueled Property Insurance Crisis Report
A couple stands to the left of the remains of a home burned down in January 2025 during a massive wildfire in and around Los Angeles.

Managing the Climate Change-Fueled Property Insurance Crisis

As private insurers pull back services in the face of mounting losses, governments are looking to spread the costs of more frequent and severe natural disasters while confronting insurance availability and affordability challenges.

Lilith Fellowes-Granda, Marc Jarsulic, Alexandra Thornton

Removing Barriers to Abundant, Affordable Housing In the News

Removing Barriers to Abundant, Affordable Housing

InsideSources published an op-ed from Kevin DeGood about the role that state and local governments play in America’s housing affordability crisis.

InsideSources

Kevin DeGood

Lower Costs Through Better Competition Past Event

Lower Costs Through Better Competition

Please join the Center for American Progress for an event featuring FTC Chair Lina Khan and Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) about protecting consumers and preserving competition.

1333 H St NW

Building Opportunity: Expanding Housing in America by Reforming Local Land Use Report
A group of townhomes are seen under construction in Falls Church, Virginia, on March 9, 2023.

Building Opportunity: Expanding Housing in America by Reforming Local Land Use

Reducing regulatory barriers to housing production can unleash new supply and serve as an important complement to federal, state, and local programs that provide direct subsidies for low-income housing construction and maintenance.

Kevin DeGood

A New Vision for Social Housing in America Article
Roadwork is seen being done in front of a low-income housing project in the Bronx borough of New York City on October 30, 2022.

A New Vision for Social Housing in America

The most effective way to solve America’s severe housing affordability crisis is to undertake a bold federal program of social housing construction that will deliver millions of new affordable, self-sustaining housing units located in opportunity-rich areas.

Kevin DeGood, Christian E. Weller, David Ballard, 1 More Jessica Vela

Converting Vacant Office Space Into Housing Report
The corner of an empty apartment with windows that look onto office buildings in Lower Manhattan is seen.

Converting Vacant Office Space Into Housing

The adaptive reuse of underutilized office buildings, if paired with government support and comprehensive planning, might be a valuable tool in many local markets for addressing the vast need for more—and more affordable—housing.

Michela Zonta, Lily Roberts, Jessica Vela

Lowering Costs for American Families Past Event

Lowering Costs for American Families

Join CAP for a conversation with Neera Tanden, Domestic Policy Advisor to President Joe Biden.

Center for American Progress

Transparency and Accountability in Insurance: Next Steps on Climate Risk Data Collection Article
Photo shows brown water flooding streets within a neighborhood against a partly cloudy sky, with homes and trucks partly submerged

Transparency and Accountability in Insurance: Next Steps on Climate Risk Data Collection

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners and Federal Insurance Office are collecting data to learn how climate change affects insurance markets, and they should consider these recommended next steps to maximize the effectiveness of this effort.

Lilith Fellowes-Granda

Testimony Before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability In the News

Testimony Before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

Doug Turner testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability about addressing the housing crisis through the conversion of commercial buildings.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

Doug Turner

What California Can Teach America About How To Increase Housing Production Article
Construction of apartment complex with palm trees in background

What California Can Teach America About How To Increase Housing Production

Recent legislation in California has reduced the legal barriers to producing new housing units—everything from accessory dwelling units to large, multifamily buildings—when local governments fail to zone their communities for adequate housing.

Kevin DeGood

Increasing Affordable Housing Stock Through Modular Building Report
A crane stacks modular home segments to make a new duplex.

Increasing Affordable Housing Stock Through Modular Building

Modular building, if brought to scale, has the potential to reduce construction costs and make building new homes more affordable, especially in areas experiencing severe affordable housing shortages.

Michela Zonta

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference Past Event
CAP IDEAS Conference logo

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference

Join the Center for American Progress as we celebrate 20 years of innovative policy solutions and look boldly forward to a progressive future.

6 Ways Bidenomics Is Delivering for Young People Article
Photo shows a young woman scanning groceries from a full conveyor belt, as the customer helps bag the items.

6 Ways Bidenomics Is Delivering for Young People

The Biden administration’s actions to strengthen the economy are helping ensure young people have a brighter future.

Jessica Vela, Crystal Weise

The Disproportionate Burden of Eviction on Black Women Report
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The Disproportionate Burden of Eviction on Black Women

The United States continues to face an eviction crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and that disproportionately affects communities of color, particularly Black women.

Cleo Bluthenthal

Nonprofit Hospitals Can Improve Community Health Through Housing Investments Report
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Nonprofit Hospitals Can Improve Community Health Through Housing Investments

Nonprofit hospitals have an obligation to provide community benefit; as part of this, they should do more to support the housing needs of the communities they serve.

Marquisha Johns, Nicole Rapfogel

State and Local Leaders Summit Past Event
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES - 2018/12/21: Pattern on an old metallic bridge seen on a rural road in the State of Georgia, United States. The built structure is painted in green. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)

State and Local Leaders Summit

Governors and mayors will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform their economies in the months and years ahead.

Localized Anti-Displacement Policies Report
Photo shows a construction worker standing on the roof of a house.

Localized Anti-Displacement Policies

As more investments enter disadvantaged communities, it is crucial that local policies stabilize current residents, ensure they benefit from expanded opportunity, and protect them from displacement.

Justin Dorazio

The United States Must Deliver on Equitable Housing Outcomes for All Article
A man bicycles past a row of houses in Philadelphia.

The United States Must Deliver on Equitable Housing Outcomes for All

Federal investments kept millions of Americans in their homes during the pandemic; in the long term, commitment to bold federal housing policy can eliminate housing insecurity for millions while uplifting historically disadvantaged communities.

Ashfaq Khan

LGBTQI+ Members of Generation Z Face Unique Social and Economic Concerns Article
A crowd of protesters at the Trans Youth March.

LGBTQI+ Members of Generation Z Face Unique Social and Economic Concerns

Disproportionately high rates of discrimination in school, housing, and the workforce among young LGBTQI+ individuals negatively affects their well-being.

Lindsay Mahowald, Edwith Theogene, Han Le, 1 More Ella Azoulay

Recognizing and Addressing Housing Insecurity for Disabled Renters Article
A disabled woman is photographed in her Washington, D.C., apartment, which she can barely afford with public assistance, with family members, October 2012. (Getty/The Washington Post/Marvin Joseph)

Recognizing and Addressing Housing Insecurity for Disabled Renters

In light of new analyses showing that people with disabilities continue to face higher rates of housing insecurity, housing policies must center this community’s needs to ensure a more equitable housing system for all.

Jaboa Lake, Valerie Novack, Mia Ives-Rublee

The Pandemic Has Exacerbated Housing Instability for Renters of Color Report
Housing activists gather in the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, on July 31, 2020. (Getty/Scott Heins)

The Pandemic Has Exacerbated Housing Instability for Renters of Color

Hardships disproportionately faced by communities of color are being exacerbated by the pandemic and require an equitable recovery that reconciles past harms while also providing solutions for current and future challenges.

Jaboa Lake

Trump’s Plan To Defund Social Security Article
President Donald Trump walks up to speak during a news conference at the White House on August 10, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Getty/Alex Wong)

Trump’s Plan To Defund Social Security

Permanently terminating the employee payroll tax along the lines President Trump has proposed would empty Social Security’s trust fund by 2026 or earlier.

Seth Hanlon, Christian E. Weller

Expanding the Supply of Affordable Housing for Low-Wage Workers Report
 (A man walks in front of a construction site in Denver on February 8, 2018.)

Expanding the Supply of Affordable Housing for Low-Wage Workers

Policymakers must focus on improving the jobs-housing fit—or connecting jobs with affordable housing—which is essential for working families and for the economy.

Michela Zonta

Kicking Folks Out While They’re Down Report
A newly erected fence blocks the front of a vacant home that Moms 4 Housing activists occupied during a monthslong protest that ended in a court-ordered eviction, in Oakland, California on January 28, 2020. (Getty/Philip Pacheco)

Kicking Folks Out While They’re Down

The early lifting of pandemic restrictions strains emergency housing and homelessness efforts and will exacerbate evictions, foreclosures, and the decades-old housing and homelessness crises.

Rejane Frederick, Jaboa Lake

The Economic Fallout of the Coronavirus for People of Color Article
A woman gives vouchers for groceries, provided by the food bank Feeding South Florida, to people lined up in their vehicles on April 6, 2020, in Sunrise, Florida. (Getty/Joe Raedle)

The Economic Fallout of the Coronavirus for People of Color

Occupational segregation, employment discrimination, and exploitation make economic downturns, such as the one created by the COVID-19 pandemic, worse in communities of color by destabilizing jobs, undermining small businesses, and increasing income shocks and unexpected expenses.

Connor Maxwell, Danyelle Solomon

3 Ways HUD Is Using Regulatory Attacks to Dismantle Fair Housing Protections Article
A man walks his dogs through the Park View neighborhood in Washington, D.C., February 2019. (Getty/The Washington Post/Bonnie Jo Mount)

3 Ways HUD Is Using Regulatory Attacks to Dismantle Fair Housing Protections

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed multiple rules that target housing access for marginalized communities and weaken protections against discrimination.

Areeba Haider

A Right to Counsel Is a Right to a Fighting Chance Report

A Right to Counsel Is a Right to a Fighting Chance

Guaranteeing legal representation for renters facing eviction not only is a highly effective means of keeping renters in their homes, but it also benefits whole communities by preventing homelessness, preserving affordable rental homes, and more.

Heidi Schultheis, Caitlin Rooney

Racial Disparities in Home Appreciation Report

Racial Disparities in Home Appreciation

Segregation and racial disparities in home appreciation put African Americans at a disadvantage in their ability to build equity and accumulate wealth.

Michela Zonta

Lack of Housing and Mental Health Disabilities Exacerbate One Another Article
A homeless man beds down for the night at a warming shelter in Washington, D.C., January 2015. (Getty/The Washington Post/Jahi Chikwendiu)

Lack of Housing and Mental Health Disabilities Exacerbate One Another

Understanding the relationship between homelessness and mental health disabilities is key to preventing and ending homelessness for people with mental illness, particularly as housing costs continue to rise.

Heidi Schultheis

Homes for All Report

Homes for All

It is time for the federal government to contribute more aggressively to the U.S. supply of affordable housing, as it did in the past.

Michela Zonta

The Latest HUD Proposal Would Exacerbate the Housing Insecurity Crisis Article
A woman looks over an album of family photos after an eviction team removed all her possessions from her foreclosed home in Colorado, February 2009. (Getty/John Moore)

The Latest HUD Proposal Would Exacerbate the Housing Insecurity Crisis

By tripling the minimum rent and imposing counterproductive so-called work requirements, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed legislation would increase economic hardship for households already most at risk of eviction and homelessness.

Heidi Schultheis, Michela Zonta, Rejane Frederick

5 Features of Successful Housing Finance Reform Report

5 Features of Successful Housing Finance Reform

A reformed housing finance system should prioritize people at all income levels, including renters, and support liquidity and affordability across the mortgage market.

Sarah Edelman, Gregg Gelzinis

Recovering from Hurricane Maria Requires an Extensive Federal Response Article
Victims of Hurricane Maria carry supplies in Morovis, Puerto Rico, October 7, 2017. (AP/Ramon Espinosa)

Recovering from Hurricane Maria Requires an Extensive Federal Response

After weathering two devastating storms, Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover as the federal government fails to provide short-term and long-term relief.

Erin Cohan, Sarah Shapiro, Rebecca Cokley, 6 More Sarah Edelman, Gregg Gelzinis, Connor Maxwell, Scott Sargrad, Eliza Schultz, Cristina Novoa

The ‘Trump Loophole’ Would Benefit Millionaires, Not Small Businesses Fact Sheet

The ‘Trump Loophole’ Would Benefit Millionaires, Not Small Businesses

President Trump's and House Republicans' proposed "small-business" tax cut would create a new loophole for millionaires—including Wall Street financiers, lobbyists, lawyers, and wealthy business owners like Trump—while doing little or nothing for real small businesses.

Alexandra Thornton, Seth Hanlon

The Art of a Devastating Deal for Distressed Communities Article
A home facing foreclosure is seen in San Antonio, February 2009. (AP/Eric Gay)

The Art of a Devastating Deal for Distressed Communities

Community development, housing, and small-business cuts in Trump’s budget would leave struggling communities even worse off.

Joe Valenti, Sarah Edelman

The Trump Budget’s Attack on People with Disabilities Article
Three-year-old Cody Snyder, who has cerebral palsy, plays in his front yard in Bloomingdale, Ohio, with his mother Dawn on June 5, 2007. (AP/Mark Stahl)

The Trump Budget’s Attack on People with Disabilities

The Trump budget would be particularly damaging for Americans with disabilities.

Katherine Gallagher Robbins, Harry Stein, Jackie Odum, 2 More Michela Zonta, Rachel West

How the Trump Budget Undermines Economic Security for Working Families Article
Minka Disbrow clasps her hands together on December 28, 2011, in San Clemente, California. (AP/Jae C. Hong)

How the Trump Budget Undermines Economic Security for Working Families

The Trump budget would squeeze working families for the benefit of wealthy elites.

Rebecca Vallas, Harry Stein, Eliza Schultz, 10 More Neil Campbell, Kate Bahn, Regina Willensky Benjamin, Kevin DeGood, Antoinette Flores, Ethan Gurwitz, Alexandra Thornton, Angela Hanks, Luke Bassett, Myriam Alexander-Kearns

Trump at 100 Days: Case Studies of Trump’s Self-Serving, Special Interest Government Report
The White House is seen in Washington, April 23, 2017. ((AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta))

Trump at 100 Days: Case Studies of Trump’s Self-Serving, Special Interest Government

President Trump and those who serve in his administration make policy that benefits themselves and special interest elites like them at the expense of ordinary Americans who placed their faith in him.

Liz Kennedy, Danielle Root

The Big Lie that Conservative Policies Are Good for Small Business Article
A small-business owner is seen in the kitchen of his restaurant in Belzoni, Mississippi, on  March 23, 2017. (AP/Rogelio V. Solis)

The Big Lie that Conservative Policies Are Good for Small Business

This column busts five myths about how business regulation, tax giveaways, competition, and the Affordable Care Act affect small businesses.

Kate Bahn, Regina Willensky Benjamin

The 2008 Housing Crisis Report

The 2008 Housing Crisis

Contrary to conservative arguments, the 2008 housing crisis was caused by unregulated and loosely regulated private financial entities—not the federal government’s support for homeownership.

Colin McArthur, Sarah Edelman

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Advancing Racial Equity and Justice

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