A home is a place where you feel safe and have the resources to seek greater opportunities. When you are unable to afford a home, it becomes difficult to pursue your goals, to save for a future house, or to securely raise a family. Affordable housing is more than a cost-effective place to live. It is an opportunity for more people to have a home, and to cover their monthly rent in secure communities.
Affordable housing creates a new lease on life, but its negative impressions are preventing its much-needed progression. It has been unfairly stereotyped and associated with high crime communities in unsafe areas; however, today’s developments have focused on creating safe and enriching environments for all. Most importantly, it has gone a step further to assist the housing crisis in the US.
To change the misconception surrounding affordable housing, we look at the reality of cheap housing in 2021.
Is Affordable Housing the Same as Public Housing?
Public housing is government subsidized housing. It is provided for low-income households where the monthly rent cannot be afforded. When we look at affordable housing, it is often managed collaboratively by government and private landlords or individually by a private entity. Affordable housing is sought by individuals and families who work full-time or part-time and can afford to cover their monthly rent but at a lower rate compared to traditional housing.
Why is There Not Enough Affordable Homes to Satisfy the Demand?
The rapid growth in the number of households requiring affordable housing has exceeded the supply. This has contributed to the rise in homelessness and in the number of households waiting for cheap housing. Many people have been on government waiting lists for years in the hopes of qualifying for affordable housing.
Unfortunately, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has left many people jobless and without sufficient income to cover the costs of rent. This has increased the need for affordable rentals to assist households with both temporary and permanent housing solutions.
Today’s Affordable Housing Consists of Modern Real Estate with Amenities
The affordable housing stereotype stems from initial communities that were developed for low-income households. The earliest forms of public housing and affordable housing were not maintained by landlords, many tenants had failed to contribute to rent, and complexes became drug and crime havens. As more housing developments went up in urban and low-cost areas, such communities were associated with slum landlords and high crime rates.
Today’s affordable housing has significantly transformed the original idea of what low-cost housing is. Modern units offer affordable rentals that are maintained by dedicated teams, private landlords, property developers, and with access to modern amenities.
You can find affordable apartments to rent in the heart of the city and in higher income areas with the purpose of accessibility and security.
Affordable Housing Can Help Cost Burdened Communities
Statistics have shown that 1 in 7 households is regarded cost burdened in the US. Families that are living from one paycheck to the next are simply finding it very difficult to save for a home to buy and one of the reasons is escalating rent. With accumulating debt on top of rising rental rates, it becomes impossible to save for the future.
Rent will increase annually because of property appreciation. What cost burdened households need is a stable rent. Rent stability offered through affordable housing provides the chance to save for their children’s college education, a future property investment, or to settle outstanding credit.
Affordable housing is set to change the lives of millions of households but only with the efforts of federal government, private developers, and investors. By recognizing and understanding the dire need for affordable housing, the misconceptions can continue to change, and more families can receive the economical, secure, and the communal living that is valued and desired.