Report Reveals Rural Renters Need Housing Help

Old house in rural Mississippi.

People who rent homes in rural areas suffer some of the most significant housing problems in the United States, according to a report recently released by the Housing Assistance Council.

"More than 1 million rural households fall into a painful category called 'worst-case needs,' " says Moises Loza, HAC executive director. "That means they are renters with very low incomes who either pay too much rent or live in inadequate homes, or both."

High housing costs are the most significant problems facing rural renters, HAC found, echoing the findings of other recent studies. One-third of all rural renters pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing costs. More than 90 percent of rural worst-case needs households pay more than half of their income for rent and utilities. Physically inadequate housing is a serious problem as well, affecting more than one in every 10 rural renters.

To learn more about the issues facing rural renters, or to read the executive summary of Rural Rental Housing: HAC's 1999 State of the Nation's Rural Housing Report, visit HAC's Web site at www.ruralhome.org.

For more information on affordable housing needs, see Why Habitat Is Needed.

-The Editors


Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, April/May 2000.
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©1999 Habitat for Humanity International