New York City’s Housing & Homelessness Crisis NYC’s Housing Need
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n a just and equitable city, people of all incomes, identities and abilities can access and afford decent, stable housing in the neighborhoods they wish to live in. A lack of access to decent, affordable and accessible housing, coupled with a history of systemic racism and exploitative practices evidenced in policies, practices, and outcomes, has long threatened the fairness, inclusivity, and long-term sustainability of New York City’s economy. Making New York City affordable for everyone is the fundamental goal of this report.
More than 900,000 households pay more than 30% of their income in rent, a measure of rent burden, with 460,000 of those households paying more than 50% of their income in rent, a measure of “severe rent burden.”
Two interrelated factors make it challenging for low-income and moderate-income residents to participate in New York’s housing market: high housing costs and the low supply of affordable
Nearly one million New Yorkers spend so much of their income on housing because affordable housing is hard to find. Since 1965, the city’s housing market has had a vacancy rate under 5 percent—the threshold for defining a housing emergency under State law. In 2017, New York City had a vacancy rate of 3.63%. The vacancy rate is even lower for affordable housing: 1.15% of units renting for less than $800 per month are vacant, and 2.09% of units renting for $800$999 per month are vacant.5
Citizens Budget Commission https://cbcny.org/research/think-your-rent-high
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Rent Burden and Housing Poverty
housing. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers pay housing costs that consume an unmanageable share of their income, crowding out spending on other essentials and putting rent-burdened New Yorkers at risk of housing instability. More than 900,000 households pay more than 30% of their income in rent, a measure of rent burden, with 460,000 of those households paying more than 50% of their income in rent, a measure of “severe rent burden.”4
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