The Out of Reach report jointly released by the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO) and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) found that Ohio’s Housing Wage – the hourly amount renters need to earn to afford a basic, two-bedroom apartment – increased this year to $15.99. Minimum wage employees would need to work 74 hours a week year-round to afford a 2 BR unit. Click HERE for the Ohio state fact sheet and county by county data on housing affordability.
Before the coronavirus hit Ohio, only three out of the 10 most common jobs actually paid employees enough to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment, according to a report released Tuesday. Today, many of those workers have been laid off and are now facing eviction.
While more than 1.4 million Ohioans have filed for unemployment insurance since March, nearly half still have not received any benefits. Furthermore, a recent report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimated 394,000 low-income Ohioans have still not received their federal stimulus checks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Household Pulse Survey estimates nearly 537,000 Ohioans are concerned that they will not be able to pay next month’s rent.
COHHIO Executive Director Bill Faith said mass unemployment among Ohioans who were already struggling to pay the rent has created the very real prospect of a full-blown housing crisis on top of a public health emergency.
COHHIO and NLIHC are urging the U.S. Senate to pass Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Cleveland) proposal to create a $100 billion emergency rental assistance program for workers impacted by the virus-induced recession.
COHHIO is also asking Gov. Mike DeWine to allocate at least $100 million of the state’s federal coronavirus relief funds for emergency rental assistance. Last month 182 businesses, hospitals, and human services organizations signed a letter urging Gov. DeWine to take immediate action to prevent a spike in evictions and homelessness.