Fifty-three percent of renters fell into this so-called
"rent-burdened" category in 2007, up from 40 percent in 2000, the
report showed. The percentage of renters who pay 50 percent or more of
their income for rent grew from 21 percent to nearly 30 percent.
The report also revealed Chicago lost roughly 125,000 affordable rental housing units between 1990 and 2005.
As incomes lagged, rent prices rose. The household median gross rent
in Chicago was $721 a month in 2000, and that rose to an estimated $821
per month in 2007 as incomes did not keep pace, the report said, citing
U.S. Census data.
In order to afford this increased rent, an annual household income
of $33,280 a year was necessary, the report said. But the median annual
income of renter households in Chicago was only $29,351, the report
said.
The foreclosure crisis has altered the rental market by increasing
demand from homeowners who have lost their homes to foreclosure and
need to rent and decreasing supply as rental properties have been
foreclosed upon, some of which may be off the rental market for an
extended period because banks prefer to keep the properties vacant to
make them more marketable, the report said.
"There's a misperception that because of the foreclosure crisis
there's a surplus of rental housing," said Sheila Crowley, president
and chief executive officer of the National Low Income Housing
Coalition. "There are high vacancy rates in the high-end rental housing
market, but we're losing low-income housing units at a fairly rapid
rate."
The problem of rental housing affordability is a national one that
needs to be addressed at the national level, said John Bartlett,
executive director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization.
"Absent livable, affordable and stable housing, individuals and
families will continue to face conditions that make them vulnerable to
financial stress, illness, absence from school and missed work," he
said.
The report concludes the nation needs a comprehensive housing policy
to support renters and home owners in accessing and maintaining safe,
decent and affordable housing in stable neighborhoods. Bankers,
national policy advocates, renters, low-income housing providers and
landlords need to be part of the discussion, Bartlett said.
Crowley called for a more aggressive tax policy, greater investment
in housing for the lowest income and expansion of housing vouchers.
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