Number Paying Too Much for Rent
and/or In Severely Substandard Housing Jumps

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released report on "Worst Case Housing Needs" found that the number of low-income households who paid more than half their monthly income for rent, lived in severely substandard housing or both, increased 42 percent between 2001 and 2009 and jumped more than 20 percent from 2007 to 2009. The increase between 2007 and 2009 is the largest two-year increase since HUD began reporting on this segment of the rental market in 1985.

The report shows a clear link between unemployment and increased housing needs. According to the report, unemployment and under-employment brought 410,000 more households into the worst case needs category and accounted for more than one-third of all new cases. HUD's report also found that the increase in need ran across all regions of the country and included all racial and ethnic groups, regardless of whether they lived in cities, suburbs or rural areas. Large numbers of worst case housing needs were also found across various family types including families with children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

To learn more about HUD's report on "Worst Case Housing Needs", click here.

-From Recently Released Reports Of Interest Regarding Housing, Homelessness and Poverty: "Worst Case Housing Needs" , Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), News from Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, February 18, 2011.

 

 

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