In a new report, a Washington, D.C.-based housing advocate estimated a resident must make more than $31.50 an hour on average to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Stamford, Norwalk and surrounding towns, tops in the nation and twice the national average.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) used data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which recommends citizens spend no more than one-third of their income on housing costs.
Danbury and Westchester County, N.Y., were also ranked among the 10 areas nationally with the highest rents. Connecticut as a whole is the seventh most expensive state, with residents needing to make more than $21 an hour to make their rent check; the state”™s minimum wage is $7.65.
In the Bridgeport area, residents must make $22.50 an hour on average to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
NLIHC is currently lobbying for a federal bill that would establish a new trust fund to produce or rehabilitate 1.5 million units of housing for those with low income. A U.S. House of Representatives version of the bill was passed last year; in the Senate the bill”™s lead sponsor is U.S. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.
The House version of the bill would be supported with at least $800 million from mortgage backers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, as well as expanding the home-equity conversion mortgage program already offered by the Federal Housing Administration. NLIHC says additional sources of funding will be needed in order to reach the goal of 1.5 million units over the next decade.
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At the state level, the Wethersfield-based Connecticut Housing Coalition is advocating for several measures in the current session of the Connecticut General Assembly, including:
Ӣ funding 650 new units of housing in 2009, toward a goal of 10,000 units over 10 years;
Ӣ expanding tax credits to $20 million for businesses that contribute to nonprofit-sponsored affordable housing;
Ӣ freeing up $500 million for repairs to existing housing originally built with state funding;
Ӣ warding off foreclosures threatening residents holding subprime mortgages;
Ӣ restoring $4 million for payments in lieu of taxes for public housing, and tax-abatement grants for nonprofit housing;
Ӣ appropriating more than $5 million for the state rental-assistance program; and
”¢ expanding a new program to create high-density residential zones with “set-asides” for affordable housing.
