Housing Assistance for Needy Families
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) contends there is not a county in America where full-time workers earning the local minimum wage can afford fair market rent on even a one-bedroom apartment, as of 2010. A vast majority of the nation's housing assistance aims to help these types of households -- often a city's neediest -- find rental housing that does not overextend their limited means.
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Identification
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Most subsidized housing programs use the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) income limits and classifications to define a city's neediest households. HUD uses three primary income categories to designate level of need. If a household's combined income is at or below 80 percent of their area's median income, HUD considers it "low-income." If a household's income is at or below 50 percent of their area's median, HUD labels it "very low-income." HUD reserves the "extremely low-income" classification for households with earnings at or below 30 percent of their area's median. Most low-income housing providers consider extremely low-income renters a city's neediest.
Need
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Families that fall in the extremely low-income category generally have the toughest time securing affordable housing, based on the nationally-accepted standard that a household should spend no more than 30 percent of its income on the cost of housing. Based on an analysis of 2008 American Community Survey data, NLIHC estimates that 9.2 million extremely low-income renter households exist in America, but the nation's housing stock only consists of 6.1 million rental dwellings they can afford.
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Function
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Subsidized housing initiatives for needy families strive to close the aforementioned gap between low wages and housing affordability. As NLIHC explains, the concern is that if a family spends more than 30 percent of their income on housing, they will not have enough money left for other necessities, such as food and transportation. NLIHC argues that needy families compromise to find housing they can afford. These sacrifices include settling for overcrowded conditions and spending considerably more than 30 percent of their income on rent.
Programs
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The two main programs that target needy renter households are HUD's public housing and Section 8 programs. In housing authority-managed public housing units, families commit no more than 30 percent of their income to the cost of housing. The Section 8 program subsidizes the share of a family's fair market rent paid to a private landlord that exceeds 30 to 40 percent of their income. Across the nation, city government and nonprofits run many programs that target the country's most vulnerable residents. For example, YWCA chapters throughout the U.S. provides emergency housing, transitional housing and other affordable housing to the homeless, domestic violence victims, children and families.
Scope
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Outside of emergency assistance, most subsidized programs qualify applicants on the basis of income. While HUD's public housing program accepts applications from households with incomes at or below 80 percent of their area's median income and the Section 8 program caps eligibility at the 50-percent threshold, most program participants make much less. As HUD's Housing Choice Voucher fact sheet points out, federal law requires local public housing agencies to provide 75 percent of their Section 8 subsidies to extremely low-income families. HUD data shows that 63 percent of those receiving Section 8 assistance earn 30 percent of their area's median income or less. In the public housing program, 55 percent of participants have extremely low incomes, as of September 2010.
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