Julia Easley, of Children's Medical Center here in Dallas and editor of the bi-annual Beyond ABC report on the state of our community's health, especially as it relates to children and families, shared with us last week the following preliminary finding on one "indicator" of community health. It was good to have her mention our affordable housing efforts in this part of her very useful report.
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Indicator: Number of affordable housing units changed to market rent.
Data Source: Texas Tenant’s Union, Section 8 Opt Outs and Terminations in Dallas County, 2004.
Across the nation, the stock of affordable housing is decreasing as a result of changes in federal policy.
Property owners are paying off low-interest HUD loans and opting out of government-subsidized housing programs. While many tenants receive vouchers when the property converts to market-rate housing, many others face increases in their monthly rent of 50 percent or greater and we are losing an important supply of decent low-cost housing.
More than 9,937 affordable apartment units in Dallas County have been lost since 1996 as their owners dropped out of their Section 8 contracts and/or prepaid their HUD-insured loans.
The number of new affordable housing units being created has not replaced the number of units lost in the past eight years. The trend of opting out has slowed as the majority of older properties dropped out of Section 8 contracts when the option was first available.
The 2006 Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University estimates that between 1993 and 2003, approximately 1.2 million affordable housing units were lost nationally.
The report further indicates that the number of Americans paying more than 50% of their income for housing increased 1.9 million between 2001 and 2004. Housing advocates support federal proposals to establish an Affordable Housing Trust Fund for construction of new housing and to help families with low incomes purchase homes.
The fair market value (FMV) for a two-bedroom apartment in Dallas County was $868 for 2005 according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Out of Reach 2005, an annual study conducted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, concluded that a full-time worker must earn $14.94 an hour, 290 percent of the minimum wage, in order to afford Dallas County’s fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment.
Forty-two percent of the renters in Dallas County are unable to afford that fair market rent.
In 2002, Central Dallas Ministries created the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation which seeks to provide affordable housing to create an economically diverse neighborhood.
Currently operating over 40 units of affordable housing, the CDCDC will break ground on a 237-unit apartment community in late 2006. Also in the plans is renovating the 511 N. Akard building in downtown Dallas, creating 200 affordable housing units.
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