Affordable rent? Charlotte region doesn’t even have half of what’s needed.
A new report puts in stark terms what many renters here already know: the Charlotte region badly lacks sufficient affordable, available rental units to meet the need for its lowest income residents.
New data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows the Charlotte metro area has just 38 affordable and available units for every 100 households earning up to 30% of the area median income, which is about $25,000 for a family of four.
There were 67,121 households in that income range in the region but only 25,198 units available. The metro region includes Charlotte, Gastonia, Concord and parts of South Carolina.
The report reflects 2019 data before the pandemic, but housing advocates warn income disruptions and other financial hardships of 2020 could have disastrous effects.
“With wages insufficient to pay for modest rental housing even when individuals work full-time year-round, a brief furlough or loss of hours, as we have seen over the past year, can create debts that renters can never repay,” according to the report.
It’s a bit of a mixed bag in comparison to previous year’s report, which found the Charlotte region had fewer available housing units for the lowest income families — 33 for every 100 households, which increased to 38 in the most recent data.
But while the number housing units affordable for low-income families increased since the last report, so did the number of low-income families. The national report echoes local data analysis, which has found that the greatest need for affordable housing is for those at or below 30% of the area median income.
Nowhere in America has the number of affordable rental units to meet the needs of low-income residents, according to the new national report, with some of the largest deficits in western and southern states like California, Texas and Florida. Nationwide, it amounts to a deficit of 7 million available affordable units.
Across North Carolina, there are 45 affordable units available for every 100 very low-income households. Raleigh fared even worse than Charlotte, with only 34 units available per 100 low-income households.
The shortage, housing advocates say, push low-income families to spend more than they can afford on housing, leaving them unable to pay for other necessary items or build savings. Or, renters are pushed into unsafe or crowded living situations or may be far from where they work or essential services.
Nearly nine in 10 extremely low income households in the Charlotte region are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than the recommended 30% of their income on housing, including rent or mortgage payment and utilities.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Affordable rent? Charlotte region doesn’t even have half of what’s needed. ."
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