*HUD PLAN Raises Rents on Poor, 26% on Ave., 8.3 Mill. Most Vulnerable, Homeless Risk [View all]

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Last edited Fri Jun 8, 2018, 12:23 PM - Edit history (3)

The Trump administration’s latest attack on housing assistance would boost rents by an average 26 percent for millions of financially vulnerable Americans and increase the risk of homelessness, a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis found.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson claimed the “Make Affordable Housing Work Act,” which he announced on April 25, would create a path towards self-sufficiency for low-income Americans receiving housing assistance.

Under the plan, which still needs Congressional approval, people receiving housing assistance would see the percentage of their total income they are required to pay towards housing increase from 30 to 35 percent. It would also raise the minimum monthly rent on the 712,000 most financially vulnerable families from $50 to $150 per month, eliminate deductions for medical care and child care, and allow housing authorities to impose work requirements.

However, according to the Associated Press, the analysis shows the rent increase would put low-income residents in the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, even those with jobs, at risk of homelessness.

Wages in those areas have not grown at the rate of housing expenses, meaning the nearly 20 percent increase they would pay for rent under the plan is six times higher than the growth in hourly earnings, according to the AP.
READ MORE, https://thinkprogress.org/trump-administration-plan-would-raise-rents-on-poor-people-64ed95618e96/



MIAMI, FL - APRIL 12: U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson speaks to the media during a visit to the Liberty Square apartment complex on April 12, 2017 in Miami, Florida.

*IMPT. TO READ: IN DEPTH AP NEWS ARTICLE with the full Analysis of this HUD plan, linked in the above article.
https://apnews.com/d084d718ddda4fe087219825bad0fcbd

UPDATE: WXYZ, *Ben Carson Backs Off HUD Plan That Would Increase Rent, in Detroit at Press Conference*, June 7, 18
https://www.wxyz.com/news/new-proposal-would-increase-rent-by-20-percent-for-people-living-in-hud-housing