Refocus on Rental Housing

Publication Date: November 2008

Publisher:

Author(s): Margery Austin Turner

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: Presidential transition; Rental housing; Housing policy

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Over the past decade or more, federal housing policies have primarily promoted homeownership while neglecting the importance of a healthy, affordable rental sector. In many parts of the country, rents for decent homes and apartments are out of reach for low- and moderate-income households, and rental options are especially scarce where they are needed most—safe neighborhoods with good schools and access to expanding job opportunities.

Whatever happens in the coming months, we ignore the rental side of the housing market at our peril. But the solutions aren’t simple—or cheap. They need to address both sides of the market failure: families’ purchasing power (the demand side) and rental housing availability (the supply side).