A Housing Roundtable, sponsored by Representative Larry Lambert and Senator Russ Huxtable focused on the current affordable housing crisis that exists, not only in Delaware, but across the country. The roundtable brought together representatives of several agencies who worked with those dealing with severe housing cost burdens. A renter or homeowner is considered as cost burdened when housing exceeds 30 percent of their income.
“In Delaware, 50 percent of renters are cost burdened, and one-quarter of all renters are considered severely cost burdened as their housing costs are more than 50 percent of their income,” Lambert said. “When this exists, it is not a matter of if you will get evicted, it is a matter of when. This is an opportunity to talk about short-term solutions.”
Huxtable pointed out that eight percent of Delawareans consider themselves homeless as they are living in cars, are precariously housed or are living with friends or family. Huxtable pointed out that many of these families had children. Legislators at the meeting pointed out that it is not uncommon for out-of-state investors to purchase apartment buildings or developments and then taking “cold” attitudes toward tenants when it comes to rent increases and evictions.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth and development for houses that most Delawareans cannot afford,” Senator Kyra Hoffner, 14th District, said. “All the new people coming to Delaware are pushing out our senior citizens, people who were born and raised here. I have noticed the sale of agricultural land has started to go down, but keep in mind, the developments you are seeing today were approved 10 to 20 years ago.”
Hoffner also has heard from small businesses that workforce housing is a problem. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a full-time worker in Delaware must earn $33.63 per hour to afford the average rent in Delaware. However, the average person in Delaware only earns $22,11 per hour.
“I want to highlight details on eviction,” Sarah Rhine with Legal Aid said. “During the pandemic, Delaware was unique. We knew that there was an eviction tsunami coming, so we got a group of stakeholders together from across the state and tried to stop that wave. What that did is put some controls in place, so our eviction levels have not reached pre-pandemic levels.”
According to Rhine, in the first week of February, there were 268 eviction filings. She also stated that in the state of Delaware, there is no right to representation in an eviction case.
“If you are going into family court, facing a civil legal action, you do not have the right to an attorney,” Rhine said. “The only ones who do have that right are people living at 200 percent of the federal poverty level. We currently have a client who is a single mother of five children. She is employed but one of her children has significant medical issues. Recently, the child was hospitalized for a number of weeks, requiring the mother to be present at the hospital. She lost her full-time job and got behind in rent by three months. She is back at work, and her child is now back at school. Her family is no longer in crisis, but they were still facing eviction.”
Rhine said that because the mother was within the poverty level for services, Legal Aid was able to negotiate a payment plan with the landlord so that the family could remain in their home. She pointed out that most landlords are willing to work with the tenant if they can be “made whole” as landlords have expenses like everyone else. Rhine also pointed out that there is no minimum of missed rent before a landlord can file for eviction. This means even one month missed can lead to an eviction process.
“We are also working to make it a requirement that if the tenant comes to the landlord with the back rent, the landlord must accept it in an eviction case,” Rhine said. “Currently, once the eviction is filed, they are not required to accept payment.”
One of the solutions proposed was rent stabilization which would cap annual rent increases and guarantee lease renewals. Anna Aviles of the University of Delaware provided information that rent stabilization did not cause rent inflation, increase evictions or damage housing supply.
“There is empirical evidence that rent regulation policies do not limit new construction nor the overall supply of housing,” Aviles said, quoting a letter sent to a federal agency by a group of economists. “There is little to no statistically significant effect of moderate rent controls on new construction. A lot of the proposals I have seen in Delaware are three to five percent which I would say falls under a moderate rent right limitation. There is evidence that rent regulations can benefit the economy as a whole as it helps people stay housed closer to their jobs. It makes it easier for employers to find qualified job seekers locally.”
Rhine pointed out that criminalizing homelessness is not the answer. Instead, rent regulations can be aimed at rebalancing the power dynamic through well-crafted policies.
Delaware State Housing Authority reported that they had offered counties and municipalities their assistance in reviewing zoning codes to see where changes could be made to increase affordable housing in Delaware. Bridgeville, Dover, Lewes, Milford, Newark, Rehoboth Beach and Sussex County have all taken the agency up on the offer.
There is currently a proposed affordable housing project proposed for Kent County, but mixed-use regulations in that county are prohibiting the project from moving forward. Little Living wants to build an affordable housing community with a fast-food restaurant, laundromat and community center on property owned by Bob Murphy. Kent County’s zoning code requires all mixed-use to be in one building, not as a separate development. Little Living feels it gives a sense of ownership if families can live in homes, not apartments, but Kent County is refusing to allow the project to move forward. The DSHA services may have benefitted Kent County as this could be an area where zoning changes could bring more affordable housing to the county.
The roundtable was an informational program only and there were no details on whether the state would pass rent regulations or change the eviction laws in the future.
