Beth Miller

The News Journal

On any given night%2C state housing officials say%2C about 6%2C000 people are without homes.

To cover the immediate need for affordable housing for those with extremely low incomes%2C Delaware would need to add 14%2C096 new units.

The demand for affordable housing in Delaware continues to outpace the supply – by a lot, and especially for those most vulnerable to homelessness.

Tuesday, the Delaware Housing Coalition released its 2014 report on what it takes to pay the rent for a typical apartment in the state – not a subsidized public housing apartment, not a brand-new apartment, just a typical apartment that meets code.

Nobody working a minimum-wage job ($7.25) can do it, no matter what county they live in. They won't be able to do it after the state raises the minimum wage to $7.75 this summer or to 8.25 in June 2015. Not even New Castle County's minimum wage workers – who get a raise to $10.10 an hour in July, will be able to afford a typical efficiency apartment.

By generally accepted financial standards, housing costs should be no more than 30 percent of a household's total income. So an affordable rent for someone making $7.25 an hour is $377.

That's way lower than the "fair market" rents calculated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD defines fair market rent as 40 percent of the median. The totals include utilities, except phone.

In Delaware, a person needs to make at least $11.54 an hour (Kent County) to afford a "fair market" efficiency apartment – working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. For a two-bedroom, it takes at least $16.04 (Sussex County). In New Castle County, figure on $15.37 and $21.83, respectively.

That's assuming you can find such a unit.

On any given night, state housing officials say, about 6,000 people are without homes.

With a significant shortage of affordable housing – only 4 in 10 of those with extremely low incomes can find such units – many end up spending more than half of their income on rent.

Getting an affordable unit isn't the only barrier, either. Those who have delinquent power bills may have difficulty getting their electricity turned on.

Michael Hoy of Delmarva Power said he worked with such a client last week, who owed the power company more than $2,000 in delinquent bills. Hoy said the utility company works to find resources for those people on a case-by-case basis.

Delaware has made strides in housing, said Ken Smith, executive director of the Coalition, with programs such as the State Rental Assistance Program. But the need remains great and he worries about the future of the nonprofit and faith-based groups that have worked on these issues for so long. Some of them are fighting for survival, too.

"There are a lot of forces undermining the work," he said. "And we can't forget social justice in our concern about making sure the organization remains solvent.... Maybe we have to live more on the edge."

That's how about 25,000 people in Delaware are living now – on the edge of losing the housing they have, the report said.

To cover the immediate need for affordable housing for those with extremely low incomes, Delaware would need to add 14,096 new units – a steep climb indeed.

Contact Beth Miller at 324-2784 or bmiller@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @BMiller57.

Paying The Rent

The Delaware Housing Coalition's 2014 report on affordable housing in Delaware shows HUD fair-market rents for a typical apartment and the hourly wages needed to pay those rents.

2 Bedroom Apartment:

Hourly wage to afford typical efficiency apartment in Delaware: $14.06, 40 hours/week, 52 weeks/year

Hourly wage to afford typical two-bedroom apartment in Delaware: $20.09

Number of extremely low income renter households (those making 30 percent or less of the area's median income), with percentage of total rental households: