“Communities are incomplete,” said Sheila Crowley, President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. People who do jobs that the community needs -- hospital aids, cashiers -- these folks must work more than one job and are left with fewer hours for family time. There are health and education consequences.”
“Kids who are in families who don’t have affordable housing move from school to school,” she added. With these increased rates of school mobility – churning through school system to school system – they don’t learn and are trying to catch up. Teachers in the classroom must devote extra time to them which has a negative effect on the quality of schools.”
Crowley said for owners who want to get out of HUD’s rule, there should be incentives to encourage them to sell to nonprofits that will maintain the apartments as affordable rentals.
“If you have a property that is in a declining neighborhood, you tolerate it,” she said of HUD hurdles. “But if the neighborhood is improving, then you’re motivated to get out of affordable housing. HUD needs to preserve the stock it has to remain competitive in the market. At the end of the day, the problem is budgetary – (the federal) domestic discretionary budget is low.”
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