*Thousands of apartments officially classified as affordable are sitting empty across U.S. cities. At the same time, millions of the nation’s poorest renters remain unable to afford housing — exposing a major disconnect in America’s affordable-housing system.
Roughly 11 million extremely low-income renter households have access to only about 4 million affordable rental units, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. About three-quarters of those households spend more than half their income on rent and utilities.
Yet only about 12% of affordable units financed in 2024 through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program were designated for extremely low-income renters, according to an Associated Press report published by NBC News.
Most tax-credit housing targets households earning at least 50% of their area’s median income.
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Austin, Texas, illustrates the gap. More than 4,500 units classified as affordable — nearly 16% — are vacant, according to real estate analytics firm CoStar.
Austin aimed to build 20,000 units for extremely low-income residents between 2018 and 2027. By 2024, only 543 had been completed. The city did, however, complete all 15,000 units planned for households earning between 60% and 80% of area median income.
Another problem is that rents on some income-restricted apartments are approaching regular market prices.
In Portland, Oregon, more than 1,700 affordable units are vacant. Many target people earning 60% of area median income, with rent capped at $1,444 monthly. AP reported an average market-rate one-bedroom there at $1,581.
Affordable-housing applications can also require extensive income verification, creating another obstacle for renters.
Developers say simply cutting rents further isn’t financially feasible without greater subsidies because construction, mortgage, and operating costs remain high. Housing vouchers can help bridge that divide, but only about one in four eligible households receives federal rental assistance.
The housing crisis therefore isn’t simply about building apartments carrying an “affordable” label. It’s about whether the rents actually match the incomes of people who need housing most.
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