Housing and Homelessness
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What are the housing needs of low-income rural residents?
Most low-income housing units in rural areas are single-family units, but many of these units may be substandard because they do not meet current building codes. Rural residents need funds to bring their homes or apartments up to code. They need access to affordable mortgages to purchase housing. In fact, affordability is the single largest housing problem for both owners and renters in rural areas, just as it is in urban centers.
Senior housing is a critical component of the housing issue in rural communities. A large majority of the rural population is over 65 and often they are disabled. Many seniors live in homes that need construction projects to accommodate their disability. Other seniors need assisted living quarters or special rental units designed just for seniors, as well as the traditional long term care nursing home. Housing specifically designed for seniors is all too often not available in rural communities.
Question:
What resources are available for housing
assistance?
Answer:
USDA and HUD are the major federal programs providing direct assistance
to low-income rural homeowners and renters. Each agency administers
a large number of programs.
Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Program or often referred as the Rural Housing Service within USDA
administers programs that assist with the purchase and rehabilitation
of single and multi-family homes. These programs offer mortgage
financing and loans to low-income and working families who
are unable to obtain financing from conventional sources. Rental
assistance is also available. For additional information, see USDA's Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Program website.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or
HUD programs include the Small Community Block
Grant program, the Housing Voucher program and other programs designed
to encourage the production and rehabilitation of low-income housing.
For information on HUD affordable housing programs, see the HUD website.
Question: What are some other sources of funding and information about housing?
Answer:
The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is a national nonprofit corporation created to increase the availability of adequate and affordable housing for low-income people in rural areas throughout the United States. HAC offers loans, technical assistance and other housing assistance to non-profit organizations that provide affordable housing resources.
The Enterprise Community Partners provides training and consulting to nonprofit community developers to promote affordable housing development. The foundation accomplishes this by investing in communities through organizations to create homes that people of low income can afford.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a Federally-funded program that helps low-income households with their home energy bills.
Also, the U.S. Department of Energy provides funding and technical assistance for the Weatherization Assistance Program.
This program enables low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient through repairs and installation of weatherization technologies.
USDA sponsors the Rural Information Center's FAQ, Rural Housing Funding Resources. This website provides a list of links to government sources, private foundations and organizations that provide information on financial, technical and informational options for rural communities and individuals living in rural areas.
Question:
Who is considered homeless?
Answer:
Under a HUD definition a person is considered homeless who lacks a fixed, regular, and
adequate night-time residence and; has a primary night time residency
that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed
to provide temporary living accommodations. This definition of homelessness does not include households who are sharing the housing of others temporarily because they have nowhere else to go (commonly referred to as “doubled-up”), or those who are staying in motels and similar places due to lack of alternatives. Programmatic definitions for different HUD programs may be even more restrictive. Because such households are not included in the HUD definition of homelessness, they are excluded from HUD services. See "A Matter of Definition: Responding to Homelessness Among Families, Children, and Youth" for additional discussion.
Question: What roles can faith and community based organizations play in rural housing development?
Answer: Faith-based organizations and community-based organizations have a long history of involvement in programs to support rural housing and assist the homeless. Their activities are especially important in communities where access to services is limited. They most often provide emergency food and housing assistance. As nonprofit housing corporations, they can apply for government funds to build, maintain, weatherize, and manage low-income housing units. In addition, they can provide support services, such as transportation, child care, and job search assistance, to the community at large and work to promote economic opportunities that create jobs for local residents. Because of their familiarity with local community needs, these organizations can facilitate partnerships between local agencies and businesses.
Question: How can states and localities address housing needs in rural areas?
Answer: One strategy is to create housing enterprise zones that encourage the development of affordable housing in targeted areas by offering tax breaks to new owners. In addition, many states and localities are using housing trust funds that are usually established through legislation or ordinance. These funds have many revenue sources; among the most common are set-asides from local real estate transfer taxes, penalties for late payment of real estate taxes, and fees on other real estate-related transactions. Trust fund governing bodies decide how the funds are used. Some are used to subsidize the purchase of affordable housing by providing zero-interest loans or gap financing. Some are used to provide rental assistance, while others are used to serve homeless populations.
States can also target HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME funds, as well as their own resources and bond funding, to address rural housing needs. The CDBG program provides annual grants on a formula basis to many different types of grantees through several state programs and the HOME or HOME Investment Partnerships Program helps to expand the supply of decent, affordable housing for low and very low-income families by providing grants to States and local governments.
Question:
What are the causes of rural homelessness?
Answer: Rural homelessness, like urban homelessness, is most often the result of poverty and a lack of affordable housing. However, there are underlying factors that contribute to the cause of homelessness such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental illness. Another characteristic prevalent in rural areas is limited access to transportation and to social service agencies that may solve housing problems and reduce the factors that contribute to the cause.
In addition, there are far fewer shelters in rural areas. Therefore, people experiencing homelessness are less likely to live on the street or in a shelter and more likely to live in a car or camper, or with relatives in overcrowded or substandard housing.
A higher percentage of homeowners and renters in rural communities live in inadequate housing when compared to their urban counterparts.
Question: Where can I find housing statistics about my community?
Answer: Several web sites can provide statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. The American Community Survey is a new nationwide survey designed to provide communities information on how they are changing. It includes data tables, ranking tables and surveys on demographic, social, economic, and housing data for over 800 geographical areas.
American FactFinder is a source of data and other information on United States population, housing, economy and geography.
State Data Center Program is an official source of state-level demographic, economic, and social statistics produced by the U.S. Census Bureau. This site includes links to each state data center.
See RAC's Statistics and Data Information Guide for additional sources of statistical data.
Last revised 01/23/2009
