WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ohioans need to earn at least $15 an hour in order to afford rent for a basic, two-bedroom apartment, according to a report jointly released recently by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.
Every year the Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy organization’s Out of Reach report includes the updated Housing Wage, which illustrates the gap between what renters earn and what rents actually cost in every county and metropolitan area in the U.S.
Ohio has a severe shortage of homes that are affordable to poor Ohioans, according to a report issued Tuesday, but the ongoing housing affordability crisis has barely registered among the state’s 2018 candidates.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s latest Gap Report found only 42 rental units are affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income tenant households in Ohio. That means 68 percent of the state’s 450,759 poorest families are spending over half their income on rent.
Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, urged political candidates from both parties to discuss solutions to address the state’s affordable housing gap.
“We hear a lot about the opiate epidemic, infant mortality, jobs, and education. But the candidates haven’t said much about Ohio’s affordable housing crunch yet,” Faith said. “Housing is key to fixing all these issues. People need a safe, decent affordable place to live in order to recover from addiction, raise a healthy baby, hold down a job, and do well in school. We’ll never build a healthier, wealthier, better educated Ohio unless we first stabilize our foundation – housing.”
The Housing Wage is an estimate of the full-time hourly wage that a household must earn to afford a basic apartment at fair market rent without spending more than 30 percent of income, the federal standard for housing affordability.
In Shelby County, a single parent earning minimum wage would have to work 68 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to afford a two-bedroom apartment. The average cost of rent for such a dwelling here is $723 per month. The rent a minimum wage-earner could afford while working 40 hours per week is $482 per month. To make those rent payments, he would have to earn at least $13.90 per hour.
In Auglaize County, the statistics are not much better. It would take the same 68 hours per week of work to pay for a two-bedroom apartment that averages $710 in rental costs there. What a minimum wage-earner could afford in rent is $502 per month. To afford a two-bedroom apartment in Auglaize County, a worker would have to make $13.65 per hour.
The minimum wage in Ohio is $8.15 per hour.
While housing costs fall most heavily on low-income Ohioans, increasing rents are also becoming burdensome for middle-income earners. The typical renter in Ohio earns $12.87 per hour, which is $2.13 per hour less than the hourly wage needed to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in Ohio.
Diane Yentel, NLIHC president and CEO, said households with severe rent burdens spend 75 percent less on health care than similar poor families with affordable rent and 40 percent less on food.
“The Gap shows why millions of low income renters constantly struggle, forced to make impossible decisions between paying for rent, healthcare or food. Being cost-burdened makes it difficult for households to save for emergencies and puts families at greater risk for homelessness,” Yentel said. “Policymakers must make the investments in affordable housing programs needed to serve all of their constituents.”
COHHIO is calling for a significant expansion of the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, which supports hundreds of anti-homelessness and affordable housing programs throughout the state.
COHHIO has also been urging members of Ohio’s congressional delegation to fully fund federal programs like rental assistance and homeless grants that have been proven effective in addressing housing insecurity for especially vulnerable populations, like homeless veterans, extremely low-income seniors, and people with disabilities and mental illness.
“Safe, decent, affordable housing is essential for healthy families and thriving communities. Given the ongoing shortage of affordable housing, it’s no wonder so many Ohio families and communities are struggling,” Faith said. “With a new crop of state and federal candidates on the ballot this year, we’re hopeful that our state will gain a fresh perspective to start closing the housing affordability gap.”
