The NLS Press
A publication of NLSA, serving Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence Counties in Pennsylvania
Volume 1, Issue 4 Spring 2003
Affordable Housing in W. PA - Crunch Time
by Joan Tutak, Esquire
Even though housing costs in Western Pennsylvania may be regarded as reasonable compared to other areas of the country, for many of our low income residents finding affordable housing1 that is also free of habitability problems is becoming an ever more difficult if not impossible task.
Findings by the Pennsylvania Low Income Housing Coalition (PALIHC) revealed that in 2002, there were no jurisdictions anywhere in the United States where a minimum-wage worker could obtain enough income to afford a two-bedroom home at the established fair market rent for that particular area2. In Western Pennsylvania the average fair market rent for a two bedroom unit is $608. Yet, according to data compiled by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (LIHIS) for the year 2002 and using the definition of affordable housing described above, a person earning $5.15 per hour in Pennsylvania could afford rent of no more than $268. For disabled individuals, the LIHIS study found that an SSI recipient was only able to afford rents of $172, while the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Pennsylvania at fair market rent was $548.
Although the Western Pennsylvania area fared somewhat better that the rest of the state in the LIHIC study, there is nonetheless a shortage of affordable units, especially for those persons of very low income. In Allegheny, Beaver and Butler Counties, for example, the estimated hourly wage needed to afford a two bedroom unit is $11.69, and for a family needing to find space containing four bedrooms, the hourly wage needs to increase to $16.37. In Lawrence County, the rates are slightly less ($8.88 per hour for a two-bedroom and $12.96 for four bedrooms).
The average fair market rents for the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, as well as for Beaver and Butler County, are $608 for a two-bedroom unit and $851 for a four-bedroom, while in Lawrence County the average rental cost for a two-bedroom unit is $462, while four-bedroom units average $6743.
Similarly, the study found that minimum-wage earners in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Beaver and Butler Counties need to work 91 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom unit, while Lawrence County minimum-wage earners again fared only slightly better, needing to work 69 hours for a two-bedroom unit4. Unfortunately, one of the characteristics of low wage jobs is that the number of hours available to the worker are also limited.
If one adds to these economic statistics other factors such as the large amount of older housing stock and the reluctance of some landlords and realtors to participate in the Section program, it is easy to understand the genuine crisis faced by western Pennsylvania's low income citizens in obtaining and keeping safe and affordable housing, especially in an economy in which median housing costs are increasing faster than income.
Obviously, the need for affordable housing is great. HUD estimates the total number of federally subsidized rental housing units in the state at 228,843 (including 78,654 in public housing, 49,633 in tenant-based Section 8 vouchers and certificates, and 67,267 in project-based Section 8)5. Yet the number of persons living below poverty in just Allegheny and Philadelphia counties is 491,066 (143,547 in Allegheny and 347,519 in Philadelphia). These figures represent a drastic shortage in the supply of affordable rental units6. In the City of Pittsburgh, a study completed in February, 2003 by researchers at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh estimated that while there are 34,541 very low-income households in Pittsburgh, only 32,385 housing units are affordable to this group7.
The consequences to those families and individuals who are forced to spend over 30% of their income on housing are often overwhelming. Families must deprive themselves of other basic necessities in order to keep a roof over their heads. If assistance through a local public housing agency is not available due to a demand that far outstrips supply, families must look to privately owned housing stock that is often fraught with problems, including disturbing habitability violations.
The University of Pittsburgh study lists several recommendations that, although focused on housing problems in Allegheny County, may nonetheless apply to a more regional, and even statewide, plan for alleviating the housing crisis.
These recommendations include establishing a senior level housing manager position to develop and implement a housing plan to address the adequacy and availability of affordable housing; improved coordination among local housing authorities; increasing access to the existing supply of affordable housing; increasing the number of locations in which Section 8 vouchers are accepted; creation of an accessible depository of housing-related data and research; and establishing a mechanism for periodically and systematically updating the status of affordable housing8.
Although the cost of implementing such a program is no doubt substantial, the cost of continuing to manage homelessness will become even more expensive (the cost of shelter space in New York City is $20,000 per year, compared to approximately $8000 for a Section 8 certificate9).
Further, the damage to families and children as a result of instability in housing and the health problems that result from living in substandard conditions is also a real consequence of the lack of affordable housing and one that produces a heavy, long-term societal burden.
As Elizabeth Hersh, Executive Director of PALIHC, recently said, "We have a very serious housing affordability problem in all parts of Pennsylvania. Without assistance, the gap between what people in low wage jobs earn and what rental housing costs here is simply unbridgeable."10
For ideas on what your firm can do to help bridge this gap and assist in solving this problem, contact Attorney Robert Damewood at Regional Housing Legal Services or Barbara Kern at Neighborhood Legal Services Association.
1. Housing is considered to be "affordable" if rental costs do not exceed 30% of ones income. Philadelphia Affordable Housing Coalition (PAHC), A Call to Action: Philadelphia's Housing Crisis and What We Can Do About It, March, 2003.
2. http://www.palihc.org/Issues/outofreach.htm.
3. Id.
4. Id.
5. http://www.huduser.org/datasets/assthsg.
6. http://www.quickfacts.census.gov.
7. Foster, Angela M. and David Y. Miller, A Study of Affordable Housing: Supply and Demand in Allegheny County, February 2003, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh.
9. Quercia, Roberto G. and Lisa K. Bates, The Neglect of America's Housing: Consequences and Policy Responses, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, August 23, 2002.
10. http://www.palihc.org/Issues/outofreach.htm.
In this issue:
Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership
Client Story - Federal Judge Restores Housing Assistance
Main Office: 928 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3799
Telephone: (412) 255-6700
Toll-Free: 1-866-761-6572
Fax: (412) 355-0168
