The Definition of Affordable Housing: Concerns and Related Evidence

Introduction This paper evaluates three critiques of the 30% of income criteria typically used to define housing affordability. It is important to evaluate them because this standard criterion is commonly used to assess need and establish eligibility for most federal, state, and local housing programs (Miles et al. 2007). Evidence is presented that supports several concerns, suggesting that affordable housing studies and programs should go beyond the 30% of income criterion and pay more attention to neighborhood quality, accessibility, and the ability of families to afford non‐housing essentials. With regard to non‐ housing essentials, there is a particular need for better information about how much money should be budgeted for healthcare and childcare by lower income families in order to determine whether their non‐housing essentials can be paid for after spending 30% of their income on housing and utilities.