What Causes Homelessness?
A Shortage of Affordable Housing
America faces a dual crisis: wages have not kept pace with skyrocketing rents, while a severe shortage of affordable units further strains the market. Without adequate government intervention through rental assistance and affordable housing development, millions of low-income households spend unsustainable portions of their income on rent, leaving them one financial emergency away from homelessness.
The Affordable Housing Gap: A Crisis for Low-Income Renters
There is a severe shortage of rental homes affordable to the nation’s lowest-income renters. But over the years, this crisis has begun to affect more and more people, with a disproportionate impact on groups like older adults, people with disabilities, and people of color. This gap has widened over the years, leaving millions without access to affordable, stable homes.
Million
Extremely low-income renters face a shortage of 7.1 million affordable and available rental homes.
Only
affordable rental homes are available for every 100 extremely low-income renters.
%
of extremely low-income renters are cost-burdened.
3/4
Households eligible for federal housing assistance do not receive it due to lack of program funding
Barriers to Affordable Housing
A combination of insufficient federal funding and local barriers such as NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard) and source of income discrimination prevent many low-income households from accessing and maintaining housing. Meanwhile, rental assistance is crucial to making housing affordable, but underfunding of these programs has caused long waiting lists that leave millions unable to make rent..
Rental assistance is a proven lifeline for households at risk of homelessness. Unfortunately, these programs are chronically underfunded, despite their potential for keeping people housed, reducing inflow into homelessness, and lifting people out of poverty. For example, for several years, the Housing Choice Voucher program (the nation’s largest rental assistance program), has only been funded to serve a quarter of the households who are eligible for it, leaving other low- income households on their own. Meanwhile, robustly funded investments in COVID-era rental assistance programs were highly successful at keeping people in their homes during the pandemic, yet the federal government has sunset almost all of these protections. NIMBYism and Its Impact on Affordable Housing. NIMBYism remains a significant barrier to the development of affordable housing, as communities often oppose the construction of low-income housing in their neighborhoods. Overcoming these local restrictions is essential for creating more affordable homes.
Multiple forces prevent communities from building needed affordable housing. Restrictive zoning and land use policies, often rooted in discriminatory practices, artificially limit where housing can be built. Community opposition (“NIMBYism”) frequently blocks affordable developments, particularly in high-opportunity areas. Rising construction costs and climate vulnerabilities further restrict development options, while ongoing housing discrimination continues to limit access for marginalized groups. These compounded barriers disproportionately impact communities of color and other historically excluded populations, perpetuating patterns of segregation and inequitable access to affordable housing.
How a Lack of Affordable Housing Impacts Low-Income Families
Without access to affordable housing, low-income renters face impossible choices — paying rent often means sacrificing food, healthcare, or other necessities. These trade-offs lead to widespread housing instability, poverty, and homelessness.
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