Movement Blog for the Campaign to Restore National Housing Rights

There is an affordable housing crisis in the United States exacerbated by a shortage of public housing and under-funded federal rental subsidies. Predatory lending and foreclosure continue to devastate the country’s lowest income homeowners, and numbers of homeless families are increasing. The UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing will investigate the following issues:

Foreclosures and Predatory Lending

-RealtyTrac reported 342,038 foreclosure filings – default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions – on U.S. properties in April 2009, a 32% jump from April 2008 and the highest monthly foreclosure rate since it began issuing its report in 2005. (NLIHC)

-Mortgage lenders like Countrywide and Wells Fargo sought out minority homebuyers for the reason that, for decades, blacks had been denied mortgages on racial grounds, and were thus a ready-made market for the mortgage products of the mid-2000s. (NYTimes)

-According to a 2008 report by United for a Fair Economy, a research and advocacy group, from 1998 to 2006 (before the subprime crisis), blacks lost $71 billion to $93 billion in home-value wealth from subprime loans. (NYTimes)

Homelessness

-National homeless statistics estimate 700,000 homeless per night; 2 million/yr. (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 1999); (NYPIRG Homeless Outreach Project)

-Approximately 20-25% of the single adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe and persistent mental illness (Koegel, Paul, The Causes of Homelessness, Homelessness in America, 1996, Oryx Press).

-Families are the largest and fastest growing segment of the homeless population; New York City officials report a record of 6,252 families with a total of 20,655 members lodging nightly in city shelters (Use of Shelters by Families Sets Record in City, New York Times; Metropolitan Desk, August 1, 2001).

-In its 1998 survey of 30 cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that the homeless population to be 49% African-American, 32% Caucasian, 12% Hispanic, 4% Native American, and 3% Asian

Public Housing and Section 8

-Between 1999 and 2001, 1.5 million public housing units disappeared permanently. Over the course of the 1990s, removals totaled 2.6 million units.

-Despite Congress adding $900 million in 2004 and $1.6 billion in 2005 to President George W. Bush’s budget requests for Section 8 vouchers, the Bush Administration still managed to cut 160,000 families requiring section 8 vouchers in 2004-2005 through administrative means.

-The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that around 37,000 vouchers used by low-income families during fiscal year 2008 would receive no renewal funding in 2009. Furthermore, an additional 25,000 vouchers in use at the end of 2008 would also be left unfunded in 2009.

Affordable Housing Shortage

-In 2001, there were only 78 units affordable for every 100 extremely low-income renters. However, many of the 6.7 million units “affordable” to households at 30 percent of AMI were occupied by higher income renters. Because of this, there were only 42 units both affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income renters. This represents a deficit of 4.9 million units nationwide. (NYC-Habitat)

-During the 1990s, the number of affordable units at 30 percent AMI fell by 1.6 million, a 19 percent decline. Over the same time period, the number of units with rents affordable at 50 percent of AMI fell by 2.2 million units, a decline of 11 percent. (NYC-Habitat)

-The number of units affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income renters fell from 52 units to only 42 units in the 1990s – a 20 percent drop. (NYC-Habitat)

-In 1999, more than half of the 1.3 million extremely low-income families who needed three or more bedrooms did not live in a unit that met their space needs. (NYC-Habitat)

“Worst Case” Housing Needs

-In 2001, an estimated 5.07 million renter households, containing 10.9 million people, were categorized as “worst case” needs. This is defined as unassisted renters with very low incomes who pay more than half of their income in rent or live in severely substandard housing.

-Severe rent burdens account for 94 percent of the worst case needs. (NYC-Habitat)

-One third of those with worst case needs were children (3.6 million). Almost 60 percent were elderly, children, or disabled (1.4 million elderly, 1.1 million disabled). (NYC-Habitat)

-In 2001, the number of low and moderate income owners and renters with “critical” housing needs was 14.46 million households. (NYC-Habitat)