Housing policies are one of the most common issues of the local and federal governments. The affordable housing crisis causes various concerns. Government should make sure that Americans are provided with a safe and comfortable place where they can live peacefully. People also focus on ensuring the diversity of the economy across various cities explains Maxwell Drever. However, they need to maintain proper communication amongst the specific community without neglecting the requirement of people.
Many states are facing an affordable housing crisis. The National Income Housing Coalition stated that an individual needs to work 40 hours a week of the minimum wage to afford 2 bedroom rental apartments in New York.
The wage of the housing is greater than the income of average people. In some states such as New York and California, the housing wage is massive. This is a severe problem because the least-affordable cities are the wealthiest ones. This means that the affordable housing crisis will develop unemployment problems as people won’t get good job opportunities.
Policymakers use various tools to address the problems of affordability, zoning ordinances, rent control, and targeted subsidies. However, many politicians focus on increasing the supply of affordable houses to tackle the affordable housing crisis.
How does Government Define the Affordable Housing?
The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development stated affordable housing as the price of the home that is less than 30% of the annual income of any individual. However, this statistic varies from city to city.
For instance, a family is considered as a low-income family of the income is less than 80%b of the Area Median Income or AMI or that particular city or area, says Maxwell Drever. Therefore, by this definition, the housing will be considered affordable for low-income families if the AMI is less than 24% of that particular area.
What is the Official of Affordable Housing? What’s Wrong With It?
One biggest problem is that many families assume they can reduce the costs of housing by moving further away from the central cities. They also choose a location further from their office. However, this will increase the transportation cost. Therefore, the simple term of affordable housing might not catch the attention of everyone.
Another great problem is that AMI can decrease the affordability of affordable housing in high-income areas. For instance, in cities like New York and California where the median income is more than $107,510. A family with an annual income of $45,000 will be considered a low-income family. Just because high-income families are living in California doesn’t mean the middle to low-income families will be able to afford a mid-priced house in that area.
What Steps Government Need to Take To Make the Housing Affordable?
One of the best solutions to the affordable housing crisis is paying money as aid to the members of low-income families, suggest Maxwell Drever. However, if the availability of houses increases. They will be able to afford the house that would free them from rent. Additionally, policymakers can also enhance the number of dwellings of the metropolitan area.
Conclusion
Even though the affordable housing crisis might seem like a big problem, there are undoubtedly several solutions to tackle it. The Federal Government just needs to focus on the solution carefully.