The gap between demand and supply of affordable housing is mounting in leaps and bounds. Around 11,000,000 renters spend half of their income on paying housing rent. It has resulted in an extreme cost burden on these families. Moreover, these individuals get jeopardized between health education and shelter. The lack of state and federal action is responsible for this crisis. As a result, city councils and citizens are taking steps to meet the growing demand for affordable housing.
- Understand the crisis in detail
As mentioned earlier, affordable workforce housing is a crisis for the workforce population. These individuals who serve society in multiple capacities must deal with stagnant wages. The worldwide pandemic has worsened their situation, and they are on the verge of eviction. Belonging to the area median income of 60 to 120%, they cannot spend more than 30% of their income on paying rent. Hence, these families are cost-burdened. As a result, they become forced to stay away from the city centers in the suburban areas. It adds to the commute time and expenses they incur on regular traveling.
- Creating affordable housing needs with proper funding
One significant step that the federal government and state institutions must take is the creation of a Housing Trust fund. There are various real estate projects, which are ongoing, established, and developing. By providing an easy grant to these projects, local governments can help build affordable housing units, recommends Maxwell Drever.
If you look at survey reports, you will see that various states have announced their plan to create Housing Trust funds for countering this issue of homelessness. Public investment in this regard will not be a non-profit investment. The demand for real estate units is always on the increase. Hence, this sector is booming.
- The role of incentives and tax breaks
To help the low-income households, various steps are underway by the federal institutions to direct their resources in this field. State incentives come as supplementary to federal grants issuing credit to the developers. It helps in the rehabilitation, acquisition, and construction of housing units in urban areas. The economic development resulting from these is well established in the urban centers. As a result, landlords and real estate investors are also taking an interest in building residential units.
- Old and vacant properties are repurposed into residential units and multifamily projects.
- Conversion of existing hotels into affordable workforce housing can cater to the workforce population.
- Different programs are underway to address the issue of the housing crisis in the community.
The implementation of housing programs is a significant step by higher institutions to provide an easy supply of affordable workforce housing. Maxwell Drever also expresses that the development of construction rules and relaxation of zoning regulations are also underway. These are some steps of federal and state governments to deter the housing crisis issue. Affordable housing is a profound concept that needs to get due attention. The public and private sectors need to come together.
