The world is experiencing a global housing crisis. About 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing and 100 million are homeless, according to United Nations’ statistics. These people are increasingly urban residents, and every week more than a million people are born in, or move to, cities in the developing world. Today, a billion people—32 percent of the global urban population—live in urban slums. If no serious action is taken, the United Nations reports that the number of slum dwellers worldwide will increase over the next 30 years to nearly 2 billion.
In the United States alone, 95 million people, one third of the nation, experience housing problems including payments that are too large as a percentage of their income, overcrowding, poor quality shelter, and homelessness. Throughout the world, people live in inadequate housing, and Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to providing decent, affordable homes for those in need.
Affordable housing for low-income families is an urgent need right here in Columbus and Franklin County, too, as documented by the City of Columbus and Community Research Partners, a local nonprofit research firm. In 2000, there were more than 20,000 low-income renters (earning 31-50% of area median income) who paid more than 30% of household income for housing; more than 5,000 of these households were severely cost burdened by paying more than 50% of their income for housing. Finding affordable rental housing is particularly difficult for larger families. In 2004, only 6.5% of conventional market-rate rental units in Franklin County had 3 bedrooms, and only 0.2% had 4+ bedrooms. In addition, in 2002, there were 15,600 rental units in Franklin County with moderate or severe physical problems; most of these rental units were located in Columbus and occupied by low-income or very low-income families.
Housing problems have far-reaching consequences. Low-income families who are cost burdened have little money for other basic necessities such as food, clothing, and health care. Living in substandard housing can endanger the health and safety of family members, erode their sense of self-worth, and impair children’s ability to succeed in school.
Low-income renters are also being hard hit by the current foreclosure crisis. According to a study published in January 2009 by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), more than 20% of the properties facing foreclosure nationwide are rentals, and because rental properties are often home to multiple families, renters make up roughly 40% of the families facing eviction. Low-income and minority communities are bearing the brunt of rental foreclosures, and with little savings to cover the costs of moving and limited options for affordable rental housing, many low-income renters struggle to find a new place to live. Worse, in Franklin County, landlords being foreclosed on are required to give their tenants just three days’ notice of eviction.
According to the NLIHC, the foreclosure crisis is also exacerbating pre-existing rental market imbalances. The availability of affordable rental housing for low-income families declined in recent years due to the unsustainable increase in housing prices, the conversion of subsidized and unsubsidized rental units to market-rate homeownership, and stagnant low-wage earnings. Since the onset of the foreclosure crisis, it has become even more difficult for a low-income family to find decent and affordable rental housing. The downturn in the housing market has resulted in an increase in the number of renters nationwide, which has contributed to continued growth in average rents and a widespread decrease in vacancy rates. In Columbus, the rental vacancy rate has fallen from 12.6% in 2005 to 7.5% in 2008. Meanwhile, low-income families are suffering an increase in job losses and declining incomes.
Habitat for Humanity-Greater Columbus (HFHGC) enables low-income families to make the transition from substandard rental housing to affordable homeownership, and at the same time we help to revitalize older, low-income neighborhoods. Our Habitat homes are built on vacant, in-fill lots in low-income neighborhoods throughout Columbus and Franklin County. Our homes have been carefully designed to accommodate a family’s needs and to blend in with the surrounding houses in the neighborhoods we serve, while at the same time allowing for simple and affordable construction. Our homes are designed to maintain their value, and a new Habitat home provides an asset to the entire community as well as the partner family. We work with local area commissions and civic associations to ensure that each new Habitat home is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
HFHGC is currently the only housing agency in Franklin County that consistently provides homeownership to families earning less than 50% of median income. Because Habitat offers zero-interest, no-profit mortgages, we make homeownership affordable for families who do not qualify for conventional mortgages. Every homebuyer family invests a modest down payment and makes monthly mortgage payments that are set at an affordable percentage of household income. And because HFHGC holds every mortgage for the life of the loan, we can continue to work with our partner families and can help to ensure their success as homeowners.
This material is taken from Habitat for Humanity International's archives. For more information on the housing crisis, including U.S. statistics and research, click here.
Supported by National Relocation, a real estate portal offering homes for rent and moving quotes.
