The affordable housing crisis is contributing to higher rates of eviction and housing insecurity. Increasing access to affordable housing by seizing every available opportunity to house more families can dramatically decrease the current problem.

Accept Rental Assistance

One of the ways to access more affordable homes is to accept the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8). Many property owners are not aware of the programs in their area and some simply do not want to participate. Generally, you and the program will have to come to an agreement on the monthly rent. Once a reasonable agreement is reached, families who are interested in the particular residence will have to be approved by the program and their portion of the rent will be determined. This means the tenant will pay a portion of the rent and Section 8 directly pays you the remaining portion.

An additional challenge in regard to affordable housing is the security deposit. In many instances, there are few regulations regarding security deposits. This means an interested person may be able to afford their portion of the monthly rent, but cannot afford the initial deposit. Making the deposit more reasonable or allowing the person to pay in installments can help.

Invest In Older Buildings

Your locality might have many older buildings, especially abandoned warehouses. Having these buildings assessed by a contractor to determine if they are safe for residential use is another option. You may also need to have the building rezoned if it was for commercial use. Many of these types of buildings have concrete floors and are especially sturdy, making them ideal for new housing. Creating a mixed-income community is ideal because people who need housing assistance are not simply forced into particular areas of the city.

Modify Current Homes

Property owners can choose to have more affordable housing by transforming current homes into duplexes or triplexes. Certain types of housing are often more popular than others. Most people find it harder to find one or two-bedroom houses at an affordable price because these residences do not stay available for lengthy periods. Another way to modify a home is to add bedrooms or otherwise make the house appealing to larger families. Housing that can accommodate someone with several children is uncommon and will not stay on the market either, especially if the available property has more than one bathroom. Understanding the trends related to affordable housing (including Section 8) will help you figure out the types of housing that are popular.

The affordable housing crisis could be substantially reduced if more landlords accepted housing assistance and/or found ways to match the rent of a house or apartment with the tenant's income.

To learn more about residential property options, contact a real estate agent in your area.