Using Federal Data Sources for Housing Advocacy - NLIHC

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Using Federal Data Sources for Housing
Advocacy
By Andrew Aurand, Vice President for                    The sample size from one year of ACS data is
Research, National Low Income Housing                   not large enough to draw annual estimates for
Coalition                                               smaller populations. Therefore, multiple years
                                                        of ACS data are combined for smaller areas.
Housing advocates have long used federal data           The Census Bureau releases five-year ACS data
to measure, visualize, and communicate their            that provides a five-year moving average for
communities’ unmet housing needs to inform              all communities, down to census tracts. The
policy at the national, state, and local levels. Data   five-year data are not as timely as the annual
from the American Community Survey (ACS), for           data, but they are more reliable (because of the
example, allow us to quantify the critical housing      larger sample) and available for many more
shortage for extremely low-income renters.              communities. ACS data are often used by federal
HUD’s A Picture of Subsidized Households,               agencies to determine how money is distributed
meanwhile, gives us a look at the quantity and          across the country.
geographic distribution of HUD-subsidized
housing.                                                The ACS provides housing advocates with
                                                        important information. The ACS for example
The following section provides a brief overview         captures data on housing costs and household
of federal data sources for housing advocacy.           income, allowing us to calculate the prevalence
Members of Congress often threaten to cut               of housing cost burdens across communities.
financial resources for data collection and             The data also allow us to measure the shortage
dissemination, making it imperative that                (or surplus) of housing for various income
advocates and organizations promote and                 groups. NLIHC uses ACS data to produce its
protect these programs. The Census Project, for         annual report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable
example, is a network of organizations that fight       Homes, which estimates the shortage of
against significant budget cuts to the planning         affordable rental housing in each state, DC, and
of the 2020 U.S. Decennial Census and the               the largest metropolitan areas. Other important
implementation of the ACS.                              variables in the ACS include race, household
                                                        type, and employment.
HOUSING NEED, SUPPLY, AND
QUALITY                                                 The U.S. House of Representatives has voted
                                                        in recent years to make participation in the
American Community Survey
                                                        ACS voluntary rather than mandatory of
See https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/            U.S. citizens by prohibiting enforcement.
acs/ and http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/        Research from the Census Bureau shows that
jsf/pages/index.xhtml.                                  a voluntary ACS would lower response rates
                                                        by as much as 20 percentage points (see The
The ACS is a nationwide mandatory survey
                                                        American Community Survey: Development,
of approximately 3.5 million housing units
                                                        Implementation, and Issues for Congress),
annually, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
                                                        forcing the Bureau to send surveys to a larger
The survey is distributed on a rolling basis,
                                                        number of households and spend more time
with approximately 295,000 housing units
                                                        following up with them in person and by
surveyed each month. The annual data provide
                                                        telephone to encourage participation. These
timely information on the demographic, social,
                                                        additional steps would add to the Bureau’s
economic, and housing characteristics of the
                                                        expenses. If the ACS became voluntary and the
nation, each state, the District of Columbia, and
                                                        Bureau did not take these additional steps, the
other jurisdictions with at least 65,000 residents.

2–30     2019 ADVOCATES’ GUIDE
survey’s sample size would decline, resulting         provide housing and services to the homeless
in less accurate data, especially for small           population must conduct a count each January
communities and hard-to-reach populations.            of sheltered homeless persons in emergency
                                                      shelter, transitional housing, and Safe Havens. A
Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy
                                                      separate count is conducted every other January
Data
                                                      (every two years) of unsheltered homeless
See https://bit.ly/29Epvjd.                           persons whose primary nighttime residence is
The U.S. Census Bureau provides HUD with              not ordinarily used as a regular place to sleep,
custom tabulations of ACS data that allow users       such as a car, park, abandoned building, or bus
to gain a better understanding of the housing         or train station. Although not required, HUD
problems among households of different income         encourages CoCs to conduct an annual count of
levels. The Comprehensive Housing Affordability       unsheltered homeless persons.
Strategy (CHAS) data are primarily used by            The PIT count is a labor-intensive task
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)-             coordinated at the local level. The result is
entitled communities in their HUD-required            a point-in-time estimate of the number of
Consolidated Plan and can also be useful for          homeless in the U.S. and among specific
housing advocates in measuring the housing            subpopulations, such as individuals, families
needs in their community. The CHAS data               with children, veterans, unaccompanied youth,
use HUD-defined income limits to categorize           and the chronically homeless. These estimates
households as extremely low-, very low-, low-,        are published in HUD’s Annual Homeless
and moderate-income. The data also count the          Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress.
number of housing units affordable to each of
                                                      The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is an
these income groups. Therefore, the data provide
                                                      inventory of beds available for the homeless
a count of households at different income levels
                                                      population by program, including emergency
and the number of housing units affordable to
                                                      shelters, supportive housing, and rapid
them at the national, state, and local levels. The
                                                      rehousing.
data also provide important information on cost
burdens, overcrowding, and inadequate kitchen         American Housing Survey
and plumbing by income level. The data can also
                                                      See https://bit.ly/1xBqTYQ.
be broken down by race, elderly/non-elderly
status, household size, and disability status.        The national American Housing Survey (AHS)
                                                      is a longitudinal survey of housing units. It is
The most recent CHAS data are from the five-year
                                                      funded and directed by HUD and conducted by
2011-2015 ACS. HUD provides a web-based query
                                                      the U.S Census Bureau every odd numbered year.
tool that makes commonly used CHAS data readily
                                                      The AHS is unique in that it follows the same
available, particularly housing cost burdens, for
                                                      housing units over time. The survey includes
communities. More advanced users can download
                                                      questions about the physical characteristics
the CHAS raw data for more detailed analyses.
                                                      and quality of housing units and about their
HUD Point-in-Time Count and Housing Inventory         occupants, so users can identify how the price,
Count                                                 quality, and occupants of dwellings change
                                                      over time. The same sample of housing units
See www.hudexchange.info/resource/3031/
                                                      were followed from 1985 to 2013 with changes
pit-and-hic-data-since-2007 and https://www.
                                                      to the sample to account for new construction,
hudexchange.info/homelessness-assistance/
                                                      demolitions, and conversions.
ahar/#reports.
                                                      A new national sample of housing units was
HUD’s Point-in-Time (PIT) count is the primary
                                                      drawn for the 2015 AHS. The core national
tool for measuring the extent of homelessness
                                                      sample represents the nation plus its 15
in the nation. Continuums of Care (CoC) that
                                                      largest metropolitan areas. For the first time,

                                                    NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION               2–31
HUD-assisted units were identified through          price range that movers could expect to pay
administrative data and oversampled,                for the cheapest 40% of apartments. In select
so comparisons between subsidized and               metropolitan areas where voucher holders are
unsubsidized housing would be more reliable         concentrated in certain neighborhoods, FMRs
than in the past. Supplemental samples in the       are set at the 50th percentile for a three-year time
AHS provide data for additional metropolitan        period. FMRs influence the maximum rent that
areas, contingent on HUD’s budget. The 2015         an HCV will cover, so the 50th percentile FMRs
AHS also included supplemental questions            are intended to expand the range of housing
on food security, healthy homes, housing            opportunities available to voucher households,
counseling, and neighborhood arts & culture.        enabling them to deconcentrate out of low
Supplemental questions typically change from        opportunity areas. In FY19, there are three 50th
survey-year to survey-year. The 2017 AHS            percentile FMR areas.
included supplemental questions on delinquent
                                                    HUD published a final rule on November 16,
housing payments, disaster preparedness, and
                                                    2016, that eventually eliminates 50th percentile
commuting.
                                                    FMRs and requires local public housing agencies
The AHS is the data source for HUD’s Worst Case     in 24 metropolitan areas to use Small Area
Housing Needs Report provided to Congress           FMRs rather than traditional FMRs to set HCV
every two years. This report identifies the         payment standards. Small Area FMRs reflect
number of very low-income households in             rents for U.S. Postal ZIP Codes, while traditional
the U.S. who either spend more than half of         FMRs reflect a single rent standard for an entire
their income on housing or live in physically       metropolitan region. The intent of Small Area
inadequate housing. HUD provides data from          FMRs is to provide voucher payment standards
these reports, dating from 2001 to 2013, in its     that are better aligned with neighborhood-scale
Housing Affordability Data System. The AHS          rental markets, resulting in relatively higher
sample is not large enough to calculate estimates   subsidies in neighborhoods with more expensive
for specific states or smaller areas other than     rents and lower subsidies in neighborhoods
the metropolitan areas for which HUD includes a     with lower rents. Small Area FMRs are expected
supplemental sample.                                to help households use vouchers in higher
                                                    opportunity neighborhoods. Small Area FMRs
Fair Market Rents
                                                    for all metropolitan areas are available on HUD’s
See https://bit.ly/2bX49my.                         FMR webpages.
Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are published by           Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Data and
HUD each year for every metropolitan area           Mapping Tool
and nonmetropolitan county in the U.S. FMRs
                                                    See https://egis.hud.gov/affht/ and https://www.
represent the estimated cost of a modest
                                                    hudexchange.info/resource/4867/affh-data-and-
apartment for a household planning to move.
                                                    mapping-tool/.
They are used to determine payment standards
for Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), initial         HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
renewal rents for some expiring project-based       (AFFH) rule required CDBG-entitled
Section 8 contracts, and initial rents in the       communities to conduct an Assessment of
Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy       Fair Housing (AFH) as part of their five-year
program. FMRs also serve as rent ceilings for the   Consolidated Plan. HUD effectively suspended
HOME Investments Partnership program and the        implementation of the rule in August 2018 (see
Emergency Solutions Grants program.                 the AFFH section in Chapter 7 of this guide). The
                                                    rule’s intention was to encourage communities
In most metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan
                                                    to plan for providing residents greater
counties, FMRs are set at the 40th percentile
                                                    residential choice and access to high opportunity
of gross rents, which is the top end of the
                                                    areas, such as those near good schools and

2–32    2019 ADVOCATES’ GUIDE
employment.                                            in census tracts of subsidized developments to
                                                       examine the extent to which subsidized housing
HUD’s AFFH Data and Mapping Tool (AFFH-T)
                                                       is concentrated in high poverty or high minority
provides some of the data HUD required
                                                       neighborhoods.
communities to include in their AFH.
The AFFH-T provides maps and tables of                 HUD Community Assessment Reporting Tool
demographics, combined with job proximity,
                                                       See https://egis.hud.gov/cart/.
school proficiency, environmental health,
poverty, transit, and housing burdens. The             The Community Assessment Reporting Tool
map data also include the location of publicly         (CART) allows users to map and explore HUD
supported housing and Housing Choice                   investments in cities, counties, metropolitan
Vouchers. A User Guide with instructions for           areas, and states. The tool provides information
using the AFFH-T is also available.                    about Community Planning and Development
                                                       competitive and formula grants (e.g., HOME,
U.S. Decennial Census
                                                       CDBG, and CoC grants), rental programs (e.g.
See http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/            Housing Choice Vouchers, Public Housing, and
decennial-census/about.html.                           Project Based Rental Assistance), mortgage
                                                       insurance, housing counseling, and other HUD
The Decennial Census asks U.S. citizens a limited
                                                       grants and programs. The tool also provides
number of questions but serves an important
                                                       data on selected demographics and housing cost
Constitutional and governmental function.
                                                       burdens.
Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution
mandates a full count of American residents            National Housing Preservation Database
every 10 years, which is used to apportion seats
                                                       See http://www.preservationdatabase.org/.
in the U.S. House of Representatives among
the states. The Census Bureau distributes a            The National Housing Preservation Database
questionnaire to every U.S. household and              (NHPD) was created in 2012 by NLIHC and
group quarters, requesting basic demographic           the Public and Affordable Housing Research
information, such as age, sex, and race. The           Corporation (PAHRC) to provide communities
count is also used to help determine the               and housing advocates with the information
distribution of billions of dollars in federal         they need to effectively identify and preserve
money for infrastructure and other services.           subsidized housing at risk of being lost from
                                                       the affordable housing stock. NHPD is an online
PUBLICLY ASSISTED HOUSING                              database of properties subsidized by federal
                                                       housing programs, including HUD Project-Based
Picture of Subsidized Households
                                                       Rental Assistance, Section 202, HOME, USDA
See https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/           Rural Development (RD) housing programs, and
picture/yearlydata.html.                               the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. This unique
HUD’s Picture of Subsidized Households                 dataset includes the earliest date at which a
provides data on the location and occupants of         property’s subsidies might expire and property
HUD’s federally subsidized housing stock. The          characteristics significant in influencing whether
programs represented in the dataset are Public         the subsidized property might be at risk of
Housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, Project              leaving the subsidized housing stock, such as
Based Section 8, Section 236, Section 202,             location and ownership information.
and Section 811. This dataset allows users to          NHPD can be a useful resource for communities
examine the income, age, household type, and           to consider the location of publicly assisted
racial distribution of occupants in subsidized         housing relative to high opportunity areas, such
housing at the national, state, metropolitan area,     as those near good schools and employment.
city, and project level. The data also include         Subsidized housing in these areas could be at
the poverty rate and percentage of minorities

                                                     NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION          2–33
greater risk of being lost from the affordable        The Housing Vacancy Survey (www.census.gov/
housing stock. NHPD can aid housing advocates         housing/hvs) is a supplement of the CPS that
and communities in identifying where efforts          quantifies rental and homeowner vacancy rates,
must be made to preserve this housing.                characteristics of vacant units, and the overall
                                                      homeownership rate for states and the 75 largest
OTHER DATA SOURCES                                    metropolitan areas.
HUD eGIS Open Data Storefront                         The Survey of Market Absorption (www.census.
See http://hudgis-hud.opendata.arcgis.com/.           gov/programs-surveys/soma.html) is a HUD-
                                                      sponsored survey conducted by the Census
HUD eGIS Open Data Storefront is a data portal        Bureau of newly constructed multifamily
that provides users with access to multiple HUD       units. Each month, a sample of new residential
datasets, including Community Development             buildings containing five or more units is
activities, HUD-insured multifamily properties,       selected for the survey. An initial three-month
and other rental housing assistance programs.         survey collects data on amenities, rent or
The portal also provides access to HUD’s              sales price levels, number of units, type of
mapping tools.                                        building, and the number of units taken off
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data              the market (absorbed). Follow-up surveys can
                                                      be conducted at 6, 9, and 12 months. The data
See http://www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda/.
                                                      provide the absorption rate of new multifamily
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requires             housing.
many lending institutions to publicly report
                                                      The Survey of Income and Program Participation
information about mortgage applications and
                                                      (www.census.gov/sipp) is a Census Bureau
their outcomes. The information that institutions
                                                      survey that tracks families for two to four
report includes whether the mortgage
                                                      years, investigating household members’
application was for a home purchase, home
                                                      sources of income, participation in government
improvement, or refinancing; the type of loan
                                                      transfer programs, and basic demographic
(e.g. conventional vs. FHA); mortgage amount;
                                                      characteristics.
the applicant’s race, ethnicity, and gender;
whether the application was approved; and
                                                      WHAT ADVOCATES SHOULD
census tract of the property’s location. Lenders
                                                      KNOW
are also required to identify high-priced loans
with high interest rates or fees. The data can        High-quality data that accurately reflect the
be used to help identify discriminatory lending       population requires participation. Housing
practices, as well as examine the extent to which     advocates should encourage everyone to fully
lenders meet the mortgage investment needs            participate in the Decennial Census, ACS, and
of communities. Small lenders and those with          other federal surveys for which they are selected.
offices only in nonmetropolitan areas are not         The accuracy and reliability of the Census’
required to report data.                              products depend on it.

Other Surveys                                         Advocacy organizations, such as NLIHC and
                                                      its state partners, use a variety of federal data
The Current Population Survey (CPS) (www.
                                                      to quantify the scarcity of housing affordable
census.gov/cps) is a joint venture between the
                                                      to the lowest income families, which makes it
Department of Labor and the Census Bureau and
                                                      easier to set specific and defensible goals for
is the primary source of labor force statistics for
                                                      expanding the affordable housing stock. NLIHC
the U.S. population. The CPS’ Annual Social and
                                                      for example provides housing profiles for each
Economic Supplement provides official estimates
                                                      U.S. state and Congressional district.
of income, the poverty rate, and health insurance
coverage of the non-institutionalized population.

2–34     2019 ADVOCATES’ GUIDE
WHAT TO SAY TO LEGISLATORS
Housing advocates should remind members
of Congress of the importance of reliable
and unbiased data to understanding and
addressing our housing needs. Specific issues
that advocates should highlight to members of
Congress include:
•   Adequate funding for the U.S. Census Bureau
    to prepare for the 2020 Decennial Census
    is imperative. Appropriate preparation will
    allow the Census Bureau to save money in
    the long run. The Census Project provides
    relevant fact sheets and reports for
    advocates.
•   Adequate funding for the ACS and AHS is
    necessary to ensure that we have up-to-
    date and reliable data regarding the nation’s
    housing supply and needs.
•   Participation in the ACS needs to remain
    mandatory. Changing the ACS to a voluntary
    survey would lower response rates. The
    reliability of the survey’s findings would
    decline unless the Census Bureau spent
    millions of dollars in additional money each
    year to send the survey to a larger number
    of households and to conduct in-person or
    phone follow-ups to encourage participation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Association of Public Data Users, http://apdu.org/
HUD Office of Policy Development and Research,
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/home.html
The Census Project, https://thecensusproject.org/

                                                     NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION   2–35
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