
How much did the federal government spend on housing assistance in 2021?
The federal government spent $90 billion on housing assistance 2021, an increase of almost 70 percent from the preceding year, largely due to legislation enacted in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Four programs that provided rental assistance to low-income households accounted for 85 percent of the spending ($76 billion).
How much did the federal government spend on rental assistance last year?
Four programs that provided rental assistance to low-income households accounted for 85 percent of the spending ($76 billion). Here are some details on those four programs and the individuals served by them: Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program ($33 billion).
How can the federal government help low-income Americans afford to live?
The most direct way the federal government could relieve housing cost burdens on low-income households is by giving them subsidies. Unlike food stamps or Medicaid, federal housing subsidies are not an entitlement : currently around one in five eligible renter households receives federal assistance.
What's in the spending package for affordable housing?
The spending package also includes $25 million for a mobility housing voucher demonstration for families with young children to help them move to areas of opportunity, and it provides $100 million in competitive grants to Native American communities to spur construction and preservation of affordable rental housing.
Who can afford these rents?
What happens if you can't afford rent?
How much does a middle income household earn per year?
What are the costs of construction?
Do subsidies increase over time?

How much does affordable housing cost the US?
Around the same time, the national median sale price for a single-family home jumped 25% from $327,100 in the fourth quarter of 2019 (the last full quarter unaffected by the COVID-19 recession) to $408,100 in the fourth quarter of 2021, the most recent data available.
How is affordable housing funded in the US?
Construction subsidies, most often in the form of a federal program called the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. It is the primary source of funding for increasing and preserving supply of affordable rental homes., are the most common. Others include mortgages with below-market interest rates, tax-exempt bond.
How much do states spend on housing?
Across the US, state and local governments spent $172 per capita on housing and community development in 2019. Among states, Massachusetts spent the most per capita ($432), followed by New York ($416), Alaska ($319), and Maryland ($270).
What is HUD's budget?
Each year federal agencies receive funding from Congress, known as budgetary resources . In FY 2022, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had $235.87 Billion distributed among its 8 sub-components.
How does affordable housing impact the economy?
The development of affordable housing can boost local economic activity through temporary construction related employment and ongoing consumer purchase driven jobs in the local economy.
What is the US budget for 2022?
The U.S. government has spent $5.35 trillion in fiscal year 2022 to ensure the well-being of the people of the United States. Fiscal Year-to-Date (since October 2021) total updated monthly using the Monthly Treasury Statement (MTS) dataset.
How are local housing authorities funded?
The federal government funds public housing through two main streams: (1) the Public Housing Operating Fund, which is intended to cover the gap between the rents that public housing tenants pay and the developments' operating costs (such as maintenance and security); and (2) the Public Housing Capital Fund, which funds ...
What role should the federal government play in providing affordable housing?
At the federal level, the government serves primarily as a funder, providing financial resources through federal tax policy such as the home mortgage interest deduction, direct subsidies such as assistance to low- income renters and indirect subsidies such as tax credits (LIHTC) to builders of affordable homes.
What state has the most subsidized housing?
Iowa ranked No. 1 for the 2019 Best States affordability ranking, which considers both housing affordability and cost of living.
What does the government spend the most money on?
Nearly 60 percent of mandatory spending in 2019 was for Social Security and other income support programs (figure 3). Most of the remainder paid for the two major government health programs, Medicare and Medicaid.
What does the US spend the most money on?
CBO: U.S. Federal spending and revenue components for fiscal year 2021. Major expenditure categories are healthcare, Social Security, and defense; income and payroll taxes are the primary revenue sources.
How many employees does HUD have?
7,240The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government....United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.Agency overviewEmployees7,240 (FY2021 FTE)Annual budget$60.3 billion (FY2021)Agency executivesMarcia Fudge, Secretary Adrianne Todman, Deputy SecretaryWebsitewww.hud.gov7 more rows
Why did they tear down projects in Chicago?
The Chicago Housing Authority used to manage 17 large housing projects for low-income residents, but during the 1990s, due to high crime, poverty, drug use, and corruption and mismanagement in the projects, plans were made to demolish them. By 2011, all of Chicago's high-rise projects were torn down.
Who establishes HUD's budget?
Congressional Budget Resolution Congress then considers the President's request and the House and Senate Committees on the Budget prepare to craft a budget resolution. The budget resolution sets the overall framework for spending in the next fiscal year.
What are the disadvantages of affordable housing?
Con: The lower rents can also impact the surrounding community negatively, as communal resources are stretched to more people, leaving fewer dollars per person. Public housing becomes a liability when the resources needed to support it exceed the amount of local taxes and federal subsidies coming in.
Is affordable housing good?
Decent, affordable housing reduces stress, toxins, and infectious disease, which leads to improvement in both physical and mental health. Affordable housing also frees up funds within families' tight budgets to spend on health care and food.
Who benefits from social housing?
Check who can get Housing Benefit To claim Housing Benefit you usually have to: have a low income or be claiming other benefits. be at least 16 years old – if you've been in care you'll need to be at least 18. either have less than £16,000 in savings or be getting the guarantee part of Pension Credit.
What are the top 3 federal expenditures?
Mandatory expenditures, such as Social Security, Medicare, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, account for about 65% of the budget.
Who does the U.S. owe money to?
The public holds over $24 trillion of the national debt1 Foreign governments hold a large portion of the public debt, while the rest is owned by U.S. banks and investors, the Federal Reserve, state and local governments, mutual funds, pensions funds, insurance companies, and holders of savings bonds.
How much is America in debt?
The $30 trillion gross federal debt equals debt held by the public plus debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts. In very basic terms, this can be thought of as debt that the government owes to others plus debt that it owes to itself. Learn more about different ways to measure our national debt.
How is social housing funded?
Funding and regulation Housing associations' day-to-day activities are funded by rent and service charges payments made by, or on behalf of, those living in its properties. In this sense, housing associations are run as commercial entities and the majority do not depend on donations for their general activities.
What are the disadvantages of affordable housing?
Con: The lower rents can also impact the surrounding community negatively, as communal resources are stretched to more people, leaving fewer dollars per person. Public housing becomes a liability when the resources needed to support it exceed the amount of local taxes and federal subsidies coming in.
What counts as affordable housing?
Reality Check: What is affordable housing?Housing charity Shelter says affordable housing should cost no more than 35% of your household income after tax and benefits.The Office for National Statistics looks at the ratio between average annual salaries and house prices when considering affordability.More items...•
How can we make housing affordable for all working poor?
How to make housing affordable for the urban poorMaking adequate housing affordable can't rely on public subsidies.Using cheaper or new building materials is only part of solution.Governments must see good housing as driving city development and give it space.
GTranslate - HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ...
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20410 T: 202-708-1112
U.S. Affordable Housing - statistics & facts | Statista
There is a huge disparity between the affordability of housing between different cities in the United States. A teacher living in El Paso, Texas would be able to afford about 83 percent of the ...
Report Analyzes Development Costs for LIHTC Projects
A report by Abt Associates analyzed data from more than 2,500 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects developed and placed into service between 2011 and 2016. The intent of the analysis was to discern the factors affecting development costs. Overall, the report found that location, project and unit size, and project type were all strongly correlated with development costs.
Home | Enterprise Community Partners
Enterprise Community Partners is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing housing supply, advancing racial equity and building resilience and upward mobility around affordable housing.
Who can afford these rents?
Using the generally accepted standard that an “affordable rent” should not exceed 30 percent of household income, Table 2 shows what amount of rent is affordable for three-person families of different income levels in different neighborhoods. For example an extremely low-income three-person household with an annual income of $23,310 can afford to pay $583 per month in rent. Even in a weak housing market, this household would be $1,980 per month short of the amount required to cover the cost of constructing a new unit. To make it possible for this family to occupy the unit, other tenants, government subsidies, or some combination thereof, would be required to provide an annual subsidy of $23,766. In contrast, a middle-income household earning $128,205 per year, could afford to rent that same apartment without a subsidy, or to rent the same apartment in a very strong market with a subsidy of $1,620 per month, or $19,441 per year.
What happens if you can't afford rent?
If certain tenants cannot afford the necessary rents, then other tenants must have their rent set high enough and/or there must be government subsidies to cover the shortfall. But there is a limit to how high rents can be set and still attract tenants, and there is a limit to how much city government can afford to provide in construction or rent subsidies.
How much does a middle income household earn per year?
In contrast, a middle-income household earning $128,205 per year, could afford to rent that same apartment without a subsidy, or to rent the same apartment in a very strong market with a subsidy of $1,620 per month, or $19,441 per year.
What are the costs of construction?
The costs of construction can be divided into three types: 1) land prices, 2) “hard costs” including the price of labor and materials, and 3) “soft costs” including insurance, permitting, architectural, legal and financing costs. These costs are sometimes expressed on a “buildable per square foot” basis, a measure used in real estate development ...
Do subsidies increase over time?
Additionally, subsidies will need to increase over time when operating and maintenance costs exceed rent increases allowed by the Rent Guidelines Board. Thus, the more affordable housing units required, and the lower the income levels specified, the more costly the subsidies will be, the more difficult it will be for developers to structure projects that recover construction costs, and the smaller the total number of affordable units that the City will be able to incentivize and support.
What is the role of NLIHC?
NLIHC monitors the federal budget process and advocates for the highest possible allocation of resources at HUD and the USDA Rural Housing Service to support affordable housing and community development.
What is NLIHC in housing?
NLIHC is a Steering Committee member of the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding, a coalition of over 70 national organizations working together to ensure robust resources to address America's housing crisis. Learn more here.
When was the House Appropriations Committee approved?
House Appropriations Committee Approves FY22 Spending Bill for Affordable Housing and Community Development. The House Appropriations Committee voted on July 16 to approve a draft spending bill that would fund HUD programs for fiscal year (FY) 2022.
When did the Biden administration release the fact sheet?
National Updates Biden Administration The Biden administration released a fact sheet on June 24 announcing initiatives to promote housing stability by supporting tenants and preventing foreclosures. Following the CDC’s decision to extend the eviction moratorium through July 31, the administration…
Who is the HUD Secretary in FY22?
The House Budget Committee held a hearing on June 23 to discuss the president’s fiscal year 2022 (FY22) budget request for HUD. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge served as the hearing’s sole witness. In her opening testimony, Secretary Fudge stated the budget “makes historic investments that will help our…
Who is the Senator that Biden met with?
President Joe Biden met last week with Senator Shelly Moore-Capito ( R-WV) to continue bipartisan negotiations over the “American Jobs Plan,” the president’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan that includes $318 billion in housing investments. Senator Capito, who is leading negotiations on behalf of…
How much did Section 811 cost in FY18?
While the bill decreases funding for the Section 811 Housing for People with Disabilities program from FY18 levels by $46 million to $184 million ($30 million of which is to support new construction or project rental assistance), this amount is enough to renew all contracts. The FY18 spending bill provided $230 million for Section 811, $82.6 million of which was for new construction.
What is the HUD bill?
The bill also takes steps to address the physical conditions of HUD-assisted housing to ensure residents are living in decent and safe homes. It requires HUD to act against property owners receiving rental subsidies who do not maintain safe properties. The language authorizes the HUD secretary to replace the property’s management agent with one approved by HUD, impose civil monetary penalties, change HUD’s contract with the property owner until the problem is resolved, transfer the property or contract to a new owner, and relocate tenants, among other actions.
How much is the HOPWA program?
Funding for the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program was increased by $18 million to $393 million for FY19. The president proposed to fund HOPWA at $330 million. Congress rejected President Trump’s proposal to eliminate the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, level-funding the program at $150 million.
What is the FY19 spending package?
The FY19 spending package provides mostly flat funding or modest increases to rural housing programs.
What was the longest government shutdown in history?
In late December, President Trump and congressional leaders had failed to enact several spending bills for FY19 – including funding for affordable housing and community development programs – which led to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. While leaders reached an agreement to reopen the government for three weeks, ...
How many vouchers are there for veterans?
Advocates believe the spending package provides enough funding to renew all existing rental assistance contracts and includes additional resources to provide an estimated 7,600 new vouchers to veterans and youth aging out of the foster care system.
What is the negotiated package for FY18?
Compared to FY18, the negotiated package increases funding for tenant-based rental assistance, public housing, project-based rental assistance, and homeless assistance grants. The bill also provides enough funding to renew all contracts for Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly. The HOME Investment Partnerships program received a slight reduction.
How much did the government spend on housing in 2015?
The federal government spent $190 billion in 2015 to help Americans buy or rent homes, but little of that spending went to the families who struggle the most to afford housing. As the charts below show, federal housing expenditures are unbalanced in two respects: they target a disproportionate share of subsidies on higher-income households and they favor homeownership over renting. Lower-income renters are far likelier than homeowners or higher-income renters to pay very high shares of their income for housing and to experience problems such as homelessness, housing instability, and overcrowding. Federal rental assistance is highly effective at helping these vulnerable families, but rental assistance programs are deeply underfunded and as a result reach only about one in four eligible households.
What is the housing burden?
Among renters, high housing cost burdens are heavily concentrated among the lowest-income families. A large majority of renter households that pay more than half of their income for housing costs have what the federal government terms “extremely low incomes,” meaning their incomes are at or below the higher of the federal poverty line or 30 percent of the local median income. Only 4 percent of renters with severe burdens have incomes above 60 percent of median. The lowest-income households are also more likely to experience other serious housing problems, including severely inadequate housing, overcrowding, homelessness, and frequent moves.
How many people are eligible for Section 8 rental assistance?
Federal rental assistance programs such as Housing Choice Vouchers, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, and public housing help more than 5 million of the neediest low-income households afford housing. About 70 percent of these households have incomes below 30 percent of median income, and most are elderly people, people with disabilities, and working poor families with children.
How effective are rental assistance programs?
Rental assistance programs are highly effective in assisting the poorest families. For example, housing vouchers have been shown to sharply reduce homelessness and housing instability among families with children. Vouchers provided to homeless families also cut foster care placements (which are often triggered by parents’ inability to afford suitable housing) by more than half, greatly reduced moves from one school to another, and cut rates of alcohol dependence, psychological distress, and domestic violence victimization among the adults with whom the children lived.
What percentage of federal housing subsidies went to renters in 2015?
Less than 30 percent of federal housing spending in 2015 went to renters, however. Owners received more than 70 percent of federal housing subsidies, despite making up less than two-thirds of all households and just 40 percent of those with severe housing cost burdens.
Is there a shortfall in rental assistance?
The shortfall in rental assistance has increased significantly over the last decade, as the number of families struggling to afford rental costs has grown, but the number of families receiving rental assistance has not kept pace.
Is the housing gap bigger for renters?
The share of families struggling to afford housing has grown in recent years among both owners and renters, but the increase among renters has been much larger. In 2001, renters were already more than twice as likely as owners to pay more than half their income for housing. By 2014, this gap had widened considerably. Among lower-income households, renters are more likely than homeowners to have very high cost burdens, and this gap has grown over time.
How much do state and local governments spend on housing and community development?
In 2019, state and local governments spent $57 billion on housing and community development, or 2 percent of total direct general expenditures. 1 Spending on housing and community development was lower than on most other major state and local expenditure programs. 2 Further, this Census Bureau category combines two distinct programs, so state and local government spending on each expenditure is an even smaller share of spending.
How does state spending differ from local spending, and what does the federal government contribute?
Local governments spend a larger share of their budgets on housing and community development than states. In 2019, 3 percent of local direct general spending went to housing and community development programs compared with less than 1 percent of state direct general spending. Much of this local spending is delivered by special districts (e.g., the Philadelphia Housing Authority) because the boundaries of these housing programs (and the communities they support) do not always map onto existing government boundaries.
How have housing and community development expenditures changed over time?
From 1977 to 2019, in 2019 inflation-adjusted dollars, state and local government spending on housing and community development programs increased from $14 billion to $57 billion, an increase of 296 percent. Spending growth on housing and community development over this period was higher than most other major programs, but this in part reflects the relatively low spending on housing and community development. In real dollars, housing and community development spending increased $42 billion from 1977 to 2019 while public welfare spending increased nearly $600 billion. (For more information on spending growth see our state and local expenditures page .)
How much did the state spend on housing in 2011?
As of 2018, state and local spending on housing peaked in 2011 at $63 billion (in 2018 inflation-adjusted dollars). This is in part because the Budget Control Act of 2011 created budget caps on discretionary federal programs, including housing and community development transfers to state and local governments. [3] However, because both the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan included funds for housing and community development, state and local housing and community development expenditures should grow in 2020 and 2021, but the Census Bureau will not release that data for a few years.
What are the factors that affect the affordability of housing?
More broadly, construction costs, credit availability, an aging housing supply, and delayed homeownership are four factors driving a decrease in housing affordability. Another is restrictive land-use zoning. However, these factors vary by state.
What is housing and community development?
Housing and community development expenditures include the construction, operation, and support of housing and redevelopment projects. Also included in this category are any other activities the government uses to promote or aid housing, including public housing, rental assistance (e.g., Section 8 vouchers ), the promotion of homeownership, and the development and revitalization of communities (rural regions and commercial).
What is direct general spending?
2 Direct general spending refers to all direct spending (or spending excluding transfers to other governments) except spending specially enumerated as utility, liquor store, employee-retirement, or insurance trust. Unless otherwise noted, all data are from the US Bureau of the Census, Survey of State and Local Government Finance, 1977–2018, accessed through “State and Local Finance Data,” Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, accessed April 5, 2021, https://state-local-finance-data.taxpolicycenter.org/. The census recognizes five types of local government in addition to state government: counties, municipalities, townships, special districts (e.g., a water and sewer authority), and school districts. All dates in sections about expenditures reference the fiscal year unless explicitly stated otherwise
What is the affordability of housing?
We commonly measure housing affordability as the share of a person’s income that is spent on monthly rent or mortgage payments. Based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition , anyone who spends more than 30 percent of household income on housing is “cost burdened” and anyone who spends more than 50 percent is “severely burdened.” Households that devote a very large share of income to housing may not have enough left over to cover the costs of food, healthcare, and transportation.
Why are apartments more affordable than single family homes?
One of the most common zoning laws that drives up housing costs is restricting the development of apartments. Because apartments use less land per housing unit than single-family homes, they are the most affordable form of housing.
How can the federal government help low income people?
The most direct way the federal government could relieve housing cost burdens on low-income households is by giving them subsidies. Unlike food stamps or Medicaid, federal housing subsidies are not an entitlement : currently around one in five eligible renter households receives federal assistance. Policies that boost incomes—like the earned income tax credit, the minimum wage, or a proposed universal basic income —also help poor families pay for housing.
What percentage of poor people cannot afford housing?
First, the poorest 20 percent of families everywhere cannot afford minimum quality housing: their incomes are too low to cover the rent on standard apartments without some subsidy from the government. The challenge for poor families has gotten worse over the past few decades as the share of eligible households receiving federal housing assistance ...
How does affordability measure housing?
The map below shows another measure of affordability for metropolitan areas: the median home price divided by the median household income. For the entire country, median home prices are roughly three times median income. But in coastal California, much of the Northeast, and South Florida, median prices are more than six times median incomes. In the Midwest and many smaller metros in the Heartland, prices are less than twice median incomes.
What percentage of income is housing affordability?
Based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition , anyone who spends more than 30 percent of household income on housing is “cost burdened” and anyone who spends more than 50 percent is “severely burdened.” Households that devote a very large share of income to housing may not have enough left over to cover the costs of food, healthcare, and transportation.
What are the housing proposals for 2020?
Three common features have emerged among 2020 presidential candidates’ housing proposals: alleviating housing cost burdens for low- and middle-income families, addressing local regulatory barriers to supply, and mitigating the impacts of past racially discriminatory policies.
How many low income people use rental assistance?
Federal Rental Assistance. Federal rental assistance programs enable about 5 million low-income households in the United States to rent modest housing at an affordable cost. These factsheets provide details on who uses and who needs rental assistance in each state. Users can also download the data, including supplemental tables on low income renters, federal funding, and the location of urban and rural housing, in Excel. Read our guide for more on how to use these fact sheets. National Fact Sheet | State Fact Sheets | Download the Data | Sources and Methods
How many people use housing vouchers?
Housing Choice Voucher Program. More than 2 million low-income households use Housing Choice Vouchers to afford modest, stable housing. These factsheets provide details on who uses and who needs housing vouchers in each state. National and State Fact Sheets | Download the Data | Sources and Methods
How many federally assisted households live in urban areas?
Federal Rental Assistance in Urban, Suburban and Rural Areas. Half of federally assisted households live in urban neighborhoods, 31 percent live in suburban neighborhoods, and just under a fifth live in rural areas. These data can help national policymakers and analysts better understand who federal rental assistance programs serve and can help state and local policymakers and stakeholders set priorities for their housing investments. National and State Data Tables | Sources and Methods
Who can afford these rents?
Using the generally accepted standard that an “affordable rent” should not exceed 30 percent of household income, Table 2 shows what amount of rent is affordable for three-person families of different income levels in different neighborhoods. For example an extremely low-income three-person household with an annual income of $23,310 can afford to pay $583 per month in rent. Even in a weak housing market, this household would be $1,980 per month short of the amount required to cover the cost of constructing a new unit. To make it possible for this family to occupy the unit, other tenants, government subsidies, or some combination thereof, would be required to provide an annual subsidy of $23,766. In contrast, a middle-income household earning $128,205 per year, could afford to rent that same apartment without a subsidy, or to rent the same apartment in a very strong market with a subsidy of $1,620 per month, or $19,441 per year.
What happens if you can't afford rent?
If certain tenants cannot afford the necessary rents, then other tenants must have their rent set high enough and/or there must be government subsidies to cover the shortfall. But there is a limit to how high rents can be set and still attract tenants, and there is a limit to how much city government can afford to provide in construction or rent subsidies.
How much does a middle income household earn per year?
In contrast, a middle-income household earning $128,205 per year, could afford to rent that same apartment without a subsidy, or to rent the same apartment in a very strong market with a subsidy of $1,620 per month, or $19,441 per year.
What are the costs of construction?
The costs of construction can be divided into three types: 1) land prices, 2) “hard costs” including the price of labor and materials, and 3) “soft costs” including insurance, permitting, architectural, legal and financing costs. These costs are sometimes expressed on a “buildable per square foot” basis, a measure used in real estate development ...
Do subsidies increase over time?
Additionally, subsidies will need to increase over time when operating and maintenance costs exceed rent increases allowed by the Rent Guidelines Board. Thus, the more affordable housing units required, and the lower the income levels specified, the more costly the subsidies will be, the more difficult it will be for developers to structure projects that recover construction costs, and the smaller the total number of affordable units that the City will be able to incentivize and support.
