IU professor: Housing market in ‘full-blown crisis’
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Families with young kids, seniors, and people living with disabilities are all more likely to lose their homes due to the current affordable housing crisis, according to one Indiana University professor.
Fran Quigley is a clinical professor of law and the director of the health and human rights clinic at IU’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
“Rent has gone up 20% over the last two years,” Quigley explained. “My students and I represent tenants in eviction courts every week.”
Between October 2021 and October 2022, the average rent on a one-bedroom apartment increased in 46 of 48 states surveyed, according to U.S. News & World Report. Renters with a one-bedroom apartment in Indiana were paying an average of $878 per month.
According to Quigley, over 7 million households nationwide are behind on rent and another 5 million are behind on mortgages. He says that’s like putting the entire populations of Pennsylvania and Illinois together and saying they are all likely at risk of losing their homes.
“Now, we spend enough money on housing to fix that. We spend tens of thousands a year for corporate landlords and tens of billions more a year on tax breaks for the wealthiest homeowners in our society,” Quigley said. “If we take that housing money, and instead devote it to the housing for people who need it the most, we can make sure that every single person in this nation has a safe and secure place to live.”
Visit IndianaHousingNow.org to find resources on housing and home ownership.