How Affordable Are Affordable Housing Units?
Economists seem to live in their own world, far from the financial struggles that the rest of us live with on a daily basis. For example, economists swear by the avalanche method of debt repayment, where you devote all the extra money in your budget to the debt with the highest interest rate, even if it will take years to pay it off. Anyone who advocates for this approach has never walked in your shoes; for you, paying off a small denomination debt in a few months, leaving you with one less bill to pay in fewer months, is worth paying more interest over time on your biggest debts. Likewise, recent initiatives to offer housing units at affordable prices, usually for rent but sometimes also for sale, seem to focus on the economic benefits for landlords and real estate developers more than for the residents who rent or buy these units. The housing voucher system is hardly a fast track to housing stability for low-income tenants, but tenants who find themselves priced out of affordable housing programs might be nostalgic for the days when the worst-case scenario was having to wait for a housing voucher for years. If you are on the brink of housing insecurity or otherwise stressed out about applying for housing, contact a Plantation credit repair lawyer.
The Affordable Housing Units That No One Can Afford
Affordable housing programs, which have become prevalent in many cities, reserve several units in an apartment complex or housing development for people whose income is within a certain percentage of the area median income (AMI). Tenants who rent units under the affordable housing program pay a certain percentage of their income, usually one third, toward rent, which means that they pay a lot less than tenants who rent identical units at the market rate. In return, landlords and developers get a tax credit that is sufficient to make up for the difference.
The trouble is that these programs leave many tenants who get accepted so rent burdened that the units hardly count as affordable. In many markets, more than ten percent of units reserved for tenants who earn between 70 and 80 percent of the AMI remain vacant, and the percentage is even higher among units reserved for tenants who earn between 50 and 60 percent of the AMI.
Landlords Choose Between Tax Credits and Reliable Rental Income, Leaving Prospective Renters in the Lurch
Whether government entities issue vouchers for tenants to pay toward rent in market value units, or whether they offer tax credits to landlords in exchange for tenants paying below market rate in affordable housing units, it is the landlords who derive benefit from the programs. Affordable housing units and vouchers are a relief for tenants who can get them, but the barriers to entry are so high that many eligible applicants remain in shelters or otherwise temporary and unsustainable housing situations.
Work With a Debt Lawyer About Getting Out of Housing Insecurity
A South Florida debt lawyer can help you discharge your debts or improve your credit score to help you apply for affordable housing. Contact Nowack & Olson, PLLC in Plantation, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/poorest-us-cant-find-housing-even-low-income-units-sit-empty-rcna596446
