There are two kinds of low-income, rental housing--
    subsidized and unsubsidized.  Subsidized low-income housing
    comes though the federal government's Department of
    Housing and Urban Development, more commonly known
    as HUD.  

    The HUD housing program with which some of you may be
    familiar is called the Section 8 program.  It provides a
    monthly housing subsidy for low-income tenants.  The
    subsidy varies depending on the size of the family, their
    income, and the apartment rent.  The subsidies are set up
    so that no person in the program pays more than one-third
    of their income for housing.  

    The section 8 subsidy can be in the form of a voucher
    which can be used with any apartment of the right size
    that passes an inspection, or the subsidy can be attached
    to a unit that has been rehabbed using HUD funds.  In the
    latter case, anyone who moves into that unit receives the
    subsidy.

    The Section 8 program is a good program, but it is
    underfunded.  The waiting list to get into a Section 8 building
    or receive a Section 8 voucher is years long.  When a family
    finally gets to the front of the line after
    waiting years, they often cannot find a
    unit that will pass the Section 8 inspec-
    tion, and so all the waiting is in vain.

    The second type of rental housing is
    market rate housing.  It is generally
    produced by housing corporations which
    see low-income housing as their social
    calling or by individuals or companies
    which see the low-income housing
    market as their business niche.

    Remember that the commonly accepted rule is that a family
    should not pay more than 30% of its total monthly income
    for housing in order to have enough money left to live.  In
    the city of  St. Louis an extremely low-income household
    earning $19,140 per year (30% of the Area Median Income
    of $63,800) can afford monthly rent of no more than $479.  
    ($19,140 divided by 12 months = $1,595 X 30% = $479)  
    So far, so good.  Two-bedroom units at Neighborhood
    Enterprises rent for $325 to $400 per month.   

    But there is an expanding group of the
    population that is below low income.  
    Think of the minimum wage worker, for
    instance, earning $5.15 per hour ($824
    per month and    $9,888 per year).  They
    can afford no more than $248 in rent per
    month.  ($824 X 30% = $248)  Or how
    about the disabled person on Social
    Security Disability receiving $579 monthly.  
    $579 times 30% equals a monthly rent of
    $174.  Senior citizens on fixed incomes,
    single mothers on welfare, laid off
    workers, can all be substantially below
    low income and thus in desperate straits
    when it comes to locating housing.

    Keeping rents affordable is only one side of the problem.  
    The other side of the problem has to do with the expenses
    that drive the rents.  If you refer to the Investment section
    of this website, you will see a sample and expense
    breakdown for a typical NE property.  You will see that the
    cash flow for a particular year, the money left after the
    rent is  collected and the bills paid, is  just under $2,000.

    Periodically, owners must redecorate apartments, put on
    new   roofs, replace appliances, furnaces, water heaters,
    windows, plumbing fixtures.  Those repairs must be paid
    for out of the rent that comes in or out of the owner's
    pocket.

    Neighborhood Enterprises deals with
    this problem by using the "selective
    rehab" method first advocated by
    the Enterprise Foundation, designers
    of Boston's Inner Harbor and St.
    Louis' Union Station.  Selective rehab
    uses a simplified style of rehabbing and redecorating
    buildings that keeps costs low while not sacrificing safety
    and utility.
Housing Fact:
Inadequate housing
can literally take a
child's breath away,
triggering asthma
attacks by exposure
to irritating factors
such as smoke,
cockroaches, dust
mites, mold, rats, and
mice.

Housing Fact:
Inadequate housing
can literally take a
child's breath away,
triggering asthma
attacks by exposure to
irritating factors such
as smoke,
cockroaches, dust
mites, mold, rats, and
mice.
Housing Fact:

13,414 applicants    
are on the Section
8 waiting list in St.
Louis--a wait of
four years.  
Recipients of
Section 8 vouchers
routinely let them
expire because
they cannot find an
approvable unit.
The Problem and Challenge of
Low-income Housing
Sanctuary in the Ordinary  2752 Lafayette  St. Louis, Missouri 63104 314-771-3509  Fax: 314-776-3703