- Double-digit vacancy rates in federally subsidized affordable housing units are due to laborious income verification requirements that deter tenants who qualify for the housing, leading them to opt for slightly higher market-rate rents instead.
Our stories include an item on the silver lining to be found in reports of high vacancies in federally subsidized affordable housing developments, and another terrible squatter case in Washington, D.C.
The Silver Lining to Empty Subsidized Apartments
A recent story published by the Associated Press details double-digit vacancy rates of federally financed affordable housing units that are reserved for low-income renters.
The A.P. article identifies two related reasons why so many affordable housing units sit empty.
Laborious income verification requirements are a turnoff to tenants who otherwise qualify for the subsidized housing. Per their reporting, tenants in Austin, Portland, and Denver are instead opting to skip the paperwork and pay slightly higher market-rate rents…