New report finds more lowest-income NYers pay half their income in rent

The most vulnerable New Yorkers are increasingly severely rent-burdened, according to a new policy brief from the Citizen Budget Commission, which found that more than 462,000 households, or 22 percent of the city's renters, pay at least half of their income in rent.

According to the report, the lowest-income New Yorkers, particularly single, senior, and single parent households are most commonly the ones affected.

The CBC argues that the growing number of low-income, severely rent burdened households highlights the city’s need for federal assistance to close the affordability gap through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher program, commonly known as Section 8, and public housing.

“The city cannot and should not be expected to close the affordability gap on its own,” according to a statement from the CBC. “Any strategy to protect or preserve affordable housing must include public housing and requires federal assistance.”

Households are considered rent burdened if they pay at least 30 percent of income in rent; 56 percent of New York City’s renter households, or nearly 1.2 million households, were rent burdened in 2017.