U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has signed onto a bill that would use federal funds to build 3 million new housing units in the U.S., which he said would bring down rents by 10 percent.
The American Housing and Economic Mobility Act is cosponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and six other Democratic senators, and a House version was introduced by Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO). The $500 billion bill, funded by estate tax reform, would not only put funding toward housing construction for low- and middle-income renters over 10 years, it would also provide down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, expand access to credit, regulate corporate landlords and offer incentives to local governments that ease land-use restrictions.
The bill lacks any Republican sponsors, though, giving it little chance to avoid a filibuster in the Senate or pass the GOP-controlled House.
Warnock—who grew up in public housing in Savannah—said housing costs are a problem all over the state. “Despite working harder, Georgians are struggling more than ever to put a roof over their families’ heads. And in almost every community in America—rural, suburban, urban—we’re in the middle of an affordable housing crisis,” he said during a conference call with reporters.
Housing costs are a particularly important issue in Athens, where a recent Washington Post analysis found that rents have risen by almost 40 percent since 2019, twice the national average of 19 percent. The average monthly rent in Athens is $1,654, the Post found, though it did not break down rents by number of bedrooms. Based on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines stating that no one should pay more than 30 percent of their income toward rent, an annual income of $66,160 is needed to afford a $1,654 monthly rent. But the median household income in Athens is just $50,477.
Like Warnock, many Athens-Clarke County officials have labeled housing costs a “crisis,” passed an inclusionary zoning ordinance with incentives for developers to build below-market units, and invested more than $50 million in affordable housing construction in recent years, most notably the Bethel Midtown Village redevelopment downtown.
All over the country, housing construction has failed to keep up with population growth, and Athens is no different. Statewide, the estimated shortage is 200,000 units. Locally, extremely low vacancy rates fueled by UGA’s growth and new jobs have driven up rents. But that may be changing with thousands of new apartments under construction or in the planning stage.
“The only way to dig our country out of this housing crisis is to build more housing so everyone has a place to call home,” Warnock said. “My bill will make bold investments in our country’s housing and encourage local innovation to lower housing costs even more—and it’s all paid for by getting America’s wealthiest families to chip in.” Many experts say that single-family zoning laws, like restrictions on height and minimum lot sizes, are contributing to housing’s unaffordability. The ACC government is currently looking at revising the local zoning code as it updates the future land use map for the first time in more than 20 years.
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