Housing Deprivation Among Enrollees in the Housing Allowance Demand Experiment

摘要

The incidence and nature of housing deprivation are described for low - income and poverty renters at the time of their enrollment in the Housing Allowance Demand Experiment, a test of the concept of direct cash assistance to low - income households enabling them to rent suitable housing. The experiment tested a variety of allowance plans involving about 1,200 experimental households and 500 control households at two sites (Allegheny County, Pa., and Maricopa County, Ariz.) during 1973 - 1977. Each household enrolled in the experiment was offered allowance payments for 3 years. Analysis is based on data from the first 2 years. This report's focus is on physical housing deprivation of clients' housing at the time of enrollment. Each dwelling unit was inspected by a trained evaluator. By gathering extensive information on the physical condition of dwelling units through this method, estimates of inadequate housing sharply increased over those produced by traditional measures. The incidence of housing deprivation, crowding, and rent burden were found to be related to household size and income, with the incidence of housing deprivation being greatest among the very poor. Traditional measures of crowding and rent burden are also indicated to be inadequate. Tabular and graphic data, footnotes, and chapter references are provided. Appended material explains the design of the demand experiment, the development of the measure used, housing needs, and site detail. (Author abstract modified).