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But Renters Still Left Behind, Says Housing Assistance Council

Contact: Joseph N. Belden
202-842-8600, ext. 133
joe@ruralhome.org

Leslie R. Strauss
202-842-8600, ext. 141
leslie@ruralhome.org

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2000 – Housing programs for rural residents would receive welcome increases in funding under the President’s budget released yesterday, according to the Housing Assistance Council, but the proposed amounts still would not be able to provide adequate housing for the lowest income rural renters.

“We are delighted to see the Clinton Administration proposing increases for fiscal 2001 in almost every rural housing program,” said HAC Executive Director Moises Loza, “so more rural people will be able to buy homes, repair health and safety hazards, and afford good quality apartments. But this budget continues to underfund the Section 515 program, which helps produce rental units for the rural people with the lowest incomes.”

The Section 515 rural rental housing program received $540 million in 1994, but only $114 million in fiscal year 2000, and it would increase to only $120 million for 2001. Run by the Rural Housing Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Section 515 helps local developers to create apartments with affordable rents for very low-income rural people.

Recent research shows that rural renters have significant housing needs. HAC’s 1999 report on the state of the nation’s rural housing revealed that one third of all rural renters pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing costs – the standard established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development – and 92 percent of the neediest tenants pay more than half their income for rent and utilities. A study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in collaboration with HAC found that worker earning minimum wage cannot afford standard rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States, rural or urban.

“Fifty years ago the Housing Act of 1949 set a national goal of a decent home for every family,” said Loza. “We are happy to see the federal budget showing a commitment to that goal, and we hope to see even more progress through increased attention to the lowest income rural residents.”

More details about the budget’s implications for rural housing will be published in the Housing Assistance Council’s HAC News newsletter, available on February 10 at www.ruralhome.org. In addition, HAC will publish a separate analysis in the near future.

A national nonprofit corporation headquartered in Washington, D.C., and founded in 1971, the Housing Assistance Council helps local organizations build affordable homes in rural America by providing below-market financing, technical assistance, research, training and information services. HAC’s programs focus on local solutions, empowerment of the poor, reduced dependency, and self-help strategies. For more information, visit HAC’s web site at www.ruralhome.org.