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The affordable housing crisis in the United States is worsening, with millions of people struggling to afford a place to live. This may sound like a broken record but unless and until the offsite construction industry begins receiving helpful subsidies from state and Federal agencies, the power of offsite will continue to be overlooked.
In response to the housing situation, state and local governments are taking steps to address the crisis. Some states are increasing funding for affordable housing programs, while others are relaxing zoning regulations to make it easier to build new housing.
Mariotti Building Products
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Viking CarrierHowever, experts say that more needs to be done. They call for a multi-pronged approach that includes increased federal funding, changes to zoning laws, and more support for renters.
“The reason why we have a housing crisis is that incomes are not high enough to afford housing costs and because there’s a severe shortage of housing at the very low end of the market,” said Sarah Saadian, senior vice president of public policy and field organizing for the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Saadian said that the federal government needs to do more to address the crisis, including expanding rental assistance programs and incentivizing the construction of more affordable housing.
“We need to make sure that everyone has a safe, stable place to live,” she said. “It’s a basic human right.”
Some States Are Working on It
“I think policymakers are more aware of the problem now and are looking at solutions,” said Sabine Brown, a senior policy analyst with the Oklahoma Policy Institute. “I know here in Oklahoma, there’s some legislation that’s been proposed to help address the shortage, but it’s going to take us a while to get there because the problem has been around for a while.”
In Oklahoma, both Republicans and Democrats are examining legislation to help with the issue, Brown said. There was a bill that would create new programs to support the development of affordable housing, authored by a Republican. Another bill, authored by a Democrat, would increase the state’s affordable housing tax credit from $4 million to $10 million.
Texas also is looking to tackle its affordable housing crisis, which experts say ranks in the top 6 nationally. Lawmakers are considering legislation that would incentivize the building of additional housing; one plan helps builders receive permits faster.
But this year, Texas lawmakers have focused their efforts on property tax reform. They say this will allow more Texans to stay in their homes, especially those on fixed incomes.
“This is off-the-charts, incredible property tax relief for millions of Texas homeowners,” said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. “This is tax relief that Texans have been crying out for, and we’re going to deliver it this year.”
An Indiana housing task force last year recommended more than a dozen policies aimed at solving Indiana’s affordable housing crisis. Recommendations included tax incentives for first-time and low-income homebuyers, state funding for housing infrastructure, incentives for local governments to relax zoning and design standard regulations, and addressing substandard housing.
One measure poised to pass this session would establish a residential housing infrastructure assistance program and revolving fund. But the Legislature rejected requests that would have added a priority to the fund for municipalities willing to develop housing units at prices affordable to low-income residents, drawing criticism from housing advocates.
Georgia legislators also discussed affordable housing this year, but most proposals failed to pass. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has acknowledged the need for continued improvement in quality housing.
Pennsylvania legislators are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal coronavirus aid for multiyear affordable housing initiatives. They’ve implemented a $125 million loan-forgiveness program to help landlords and homeowners make deteriorating units safe, livable, and energy-efficient. A $150 million fund has been set aside to help offset inflated pandemic-related costs of building multifamily rental properties.
The Offsite construction industry should join with communities to look at solutions that can be done without additional resources, like zoning changes, to support more market-rate housing for middle-income renters better and to think about how to target resources better to build or make housing affordable in areas where the private sector can’t.
We have the capacity. We have the talent. Now if we could get more government subsidies to allow us to build more competitively, then we could begin making huge contributions to affordable and low-income housing.
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Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder magazine. Email at modcoach@gmail.com
Gary Fleisher, the Modcoach
