Name of Report: A Report on the Worst Case Housing Needs in 1999: New Opportunity Amid Continuing Challenges Executive Summary
Organization affiliation: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research
Contact Information: Susan M. Wachter; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Washington, D.C. 20410-0001 (has probably changed since report release)
Date: January 2001
Pages: 9 pages (unnumbered)
Content Summary
The report examines the trends of worst case housing needs and how the Clinton Administration’s policies have affected affordable rental housing opportunities. The report describes the types of households, which have seen increases or decreases in worst case housing needs as well as regional areas, which have seen declines or increases in housing needs.
Major Findings
Overall, 2001 saw a decrease in the need for rent assisted housing largely due to the economic policies of the Clinton Administration, which allowed many low income renters to move out of those conditions. On the other hand, low-income housing was cut and those who did still need that assistance were pushed into harsher conditions. There continues to be a shortage of affordable rental housing. The drops in worst-case housing problems were fastest among Hispanics while Blacks were the only racial group to see a rise in worst case needs between 1997 and 1999. Regionally, the greatest decreases in worst-case need occurred in the Northeast. Nationally, worst-case problems fell least in central cities where people tend to get less assistance and very low-income renters have severe problems.
Related Issues
Though informative, this report could benefit from being updated as it focuses mainly on the effects of the Clinton Administration’s policies. Also the report is general in terms of its wording and does not specify which policies may have negatively impacted low-income renters. The conclusion that decreases in worst-case need were greatest in the Northeast, is inconsistent with other more recent reports. Though the rise in worst-case housing need among the Black community in Rhode Island could be attributed to reports that while Black adults have higher probability of employment but often have lower wages.
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