Affordable housing is crucial
The rising number of evictions in Maricopa County is symptomatic of deep economic and social distress within our community and our state. This crisis goes largely unseen by those whose lives are buttressed by good-paying jobs and mortgages they can afford — and deduct on their income tax.
But increasing numbers of people who work in our community are unable to keep a roof over their heads.
Republic reporter Alden Woods related stories of working people who are one crisis away from eviction.
Wages have not kept pace with rising housing costs. The supply of affordable apartments has not kept pace with the demand.
The great American promise that hard work buys a good life looks like a con job.
The eviction rate jumped 137 percent since 2000, according to Woods’ reporting. In 2016, Maricopa County Justice Courts issued 22,231 eviction notices.
Val Iverson, co-executive director of the Arizona Housing Coalition, says there is a need for about 200,000 affordable housing units in Arizona. Why don’t we have them? The short answer is that it’s not profitable to build and maintain nice, safe twobedroom apartments that are affordable to people on minimum wage, Iverson says.
Builders need subsidies to keep costs down because they won't make their money back on rent. Some federal and state money is available. But Arizona is providing about one-tenth of what it once did for this essential purpose.
Before the recession, Arizona directed about $40 million a year from unclaimed property to the state Department of Housing, some of which was available for financing low-income housing, Iverson says.
That funding stream was diverted, then capped. Some new funds for that purpose have been added, but the total is about $4 million a year now, Iverson says. The state should beef up financing for low-cost housing.
Affordable housing is scarce nationwide and evictions are up. But the problem is particularly acute in Phoenix, where rents have risen faster than the national average.
And there are only 21 available, affordable units for every 100 renters whose incomes put them below the poverty line, according to Woods’ reporting.
The Valley’s growing popularity among the young and affluent professionals may translate into bragging rights for mayors. It also pushes up the cost of renting.
So does the high demand for rentals that resulted from the large number of foreclosures during the recession. Rental prices rose as demand increased and supply dwindled.
Many of the former homeowners who continue to rent can afford luxury apartments, and those are far more profitable to build and operate than low-rent housing. This, again, points to the need for subsidies.
The working poor who are evicted have few options. Shelter space is limited. The streets are hard and deadly hot. Relatives and friends have limits and economic realities of their own.
“These are working people,” Iverson says. Many have children.
These families are contributing members of our community. They deserve a decent place to live and raise their children.
What’s more, the costs to individuals and the community of ignoring this basic human need are steep.
The increasing desperation of those whose labor won’t keep a roof over their heads puts families at risk and weakens our community.
The people left desperate by evictions are not strangers. You probably see them every day — in restaurants, shops, hotels. They work. But working does not bring the kind of dignity we are told work is supposed to bring.
The inherent unfairness of that demands a response that is not about left or right, Democrat or Republican.
These Arizonans deserve a response from their elected representatives and their communities that recognizes their humanity and their need for safe, decent housing.