Guaranteeing Access to Affordable Housing

Residents of the East Bay and people across America are facing a housing crisis. On the one hand, there is a shortage of housing where people need it, while on the other hand the housing that is available is often completely unaffordable. This is a completely supply-side issue: there is not enough of the right kind of housing to help working- and middle-class people. Congress can and must set mandates for mixed-income and affordable housing availability in American cities. In this age of gentrification, much of the available housing stock is set at completely unrealistic rents that price out most working people. Cities must be mandated to provide more affordable and specifically-mixed income housing. Mixed-income development results not only in lower average housing costs, but also in a wide range of beneficial side effects for all residents, including high academic performance for students, a reduction of crime, lower rates of homelessness and transience, and a reduced burden on local medical facilities. The economic and cultural diversity that mixed-income housing facilitates also enriches communities and breaks down barriers of intolerance. 

What informed our plan?

• Mixed-Income Neighborhoods Expand Social Networks and Benefit Health by Heather Schwartz, Susan Burkhauser, Beth Ann Griffin, David Kennedy, Harold Green, Jr., Alene Kennedy-Hendricks, And Craig Pollack, MacArthur Foundation
• Developing Mixed Income Housing from Local Housing Solutions
• The Properties of Integration: Mixed-Income Housing as Discrimination Management by Audrey McFarlane University of Baltimore School of Law
• Why Do Affordable Homes Matter from National Low-Income Housing Coalition

Housing costs across the United States have risen dramatically over the past ten years. On average, American’s now pay more than the recommended 30% of their take-home pay on housing costs. In cities and urban areas like the East Bay, these costs are even higher, closer to 50% or more in most cases. For example, average rents in Oakland are more than 17% higher than the national average. Our wallets are being hit hard by out of control housing and rents, reducing our ability to make ends meet and save.

My plan focuses on expanding federal rental assistance to become universal for all renters: the federal government can and must subsidize rents so that renters on the one hand only pay 30% of their salary while landlords on the other hand can still earn the total rental income they need to turn a profit on their properties. Studies and pilots have shown that expanding federal rental assistance reduces poverty and the other driving causes of homelessness and urban crime. Investing in housing is an investment in the American people that we cannot afford to ignore. 

What informed our plan?

• Low-Income Renters Spent Larger Share of Income on Rent in 2021 and Housing Costs a Big Burden on Renters in Largest U.S. Counties from US Census Bureau
• Key facts about housing affordability in the U.S. from Pew Research Center
• Number Of Renters Burdened By Housing Costs Reached A Record High In 2021 from Joint Center for Housing Studies
• Policy Basics: Federal Rental Assistance from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Study: Expansion of federal rental assistance would bring significant drop in poverty, homelessness by Janaki Chadha, Politico

Homelessness is driven by a complex array of root causes and factors that differ from community to community. However, all studies show that a common leading cause is the unaffordability of housing. Even when affordable housing is more available, many Americans — especially those experiencing acute crises, illnesses, and unexpected job losses — are simply unable to pay their rent. The United States must ensure that all Americans benefit from our country’s great wealth and prosperity, and housing access must become a right instead of a privilege. As such, my plan calls for the United States to fully adopt a Housing First mandate. Anyone finding themselves in an unhoused state should have the right and ability to get access to a safe and quality living space in a time of need, and studies have shown that, when implemented well, Housing First policies dramatically reduce not only homelessness but also associated issues like poverty, substance abuse, violence and physical harm, and poor education. Housing First necessarily requires financial investments in the front end to identify, build, and organize these residences, but these up-front investments will be more than paid for by future sayings due to lower crime and reduced burdens in first responders as well as in greater prosperity for recipients and their children. 

What informed our policy?

• Housing First from National Alliance to End Homelessness
• Housing First in Permanent Supportive Housing from Housing and Urban Development Exchange
• The Case for Housing First from National Low-Income Housing Coalition
• Housing First Model: An Evidence Based Approach to Ending Homelessness from Heading Home
• Housing Abundance as a Condition for Ending Homelessness from Ned Resnikoff, California YIMBY Education Fund