The High Cost of Rising Rents

Rent increases and older adults

Financial advisers recommend that housing costs not exceed 30 percent of household income. But more than half of older renters are above that threshold, according to a study by the Urban Institute. And almost a quarter of older renters spend more than half of their income on rent. “Senior renters are more likely to be cost burdened than their homeowning counterparts,” says Jun Zhu, a clinical assistant professor at Indiana University and a nonresident fellow with the Urban Institute.

The lack of affordable apartments and displacement of older renters often occurs when investors purchase a building, says Denise Matthews-Turner, coexecutive director for City Life/Vida Urbana, a Boston community organization that supports tenants’ rights. “What tends to happen is that they raise the rent quickly, and the threat of eviction is terrifying,” Matthews-Turner adds.

Researchers have also found that adults 65 and older are the fastest-growing group of homeless people—and their numbers are anticipated to triple by 2030, according to the American Society on Aging.

Short-term solutions for rent increases

Federal and state government programs designed to help older Americans challenged by rent increases are limited. Rent controls at the state or local level can be found in seven states (California, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Oregon) plus the District of Columbia, according to the National Apartment Association. (For rules in your location, check the National Multifamily Housing Council's rent-control map.)

Some state or local rental laws and regulations set requirements for the minimum amount of advance notice that must be given before the rent can be increased, or mandate relocation assistance for some evictions as well as offer emergency rental assistance. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also offers housing vouchers, which can be used to help pay rent. But Couch notes that it can be difficult in some markets to find landlords that accept HUD vouchers, and even getting a voucher can take years.

“HUD recently announced a big increase in funding for housing vouchers, which will hopefully make them easier to use, especially to prevent homelessness,” Couch says. In September, HUD awarded more than 19,000 new housing vouchers totaling more than $214 million. The fiscal year 2023 budget requests $1.6 billion for the housing voucher program.

Couch says that area agencies on aging can provide help in navigating the system. “It’s great if these offices have emergency rental assistance or can connect someone to that kind of fund to keep someone in their apartment.”

Policy implications for senior rent crisis

Three federal programs are meant to spark the building of affordable rental housing.

• HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program provides interest-free capital to developers to build rental homes for very low-income older renters and also provides rent subsidies. “If you’re in Section 202 housing and your income declines, your rent goes down as well, so your housing is always stable,” Couch says. But Zhu notes that this program has been in decline, with fewer units being made available over the past decade.
• The federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which helps subsidize the development of affordable housing, could be used to create more housing for older people, Zhu says.
• The Housing Choice Voucher program subsidizes rent for very low-income renters. The renter pays 30 percent of their income, and the program generally covers the rest. But funds are limited, and it often has a waiting list.

“We have the tools and resources to respond to the affordable housing crisis and the need for aging services,” Couch says. “We just need the funding and long-term resources to respond to this true crisis.”