Fast Facts to Know and Use About Housing and People with Disabilities

Housing is not affordable

1.4 million Americans with disabilities spend at least 50 percent of their income for housing, or live in seriously substandard housing. An additional 200,000 persons with disabilities are homeless - living in shelters or on the street.

Housing is not available

Only 40 percent of low income households can find housing that they can afford - housing is simply not available. Many housing complexes that receive federal subsidies limit admissions to people over age 62 - as a result, this housing is unavailable to many people with disabilities.

Housing is not accessible

Accessible housing that people with low incomes can afford is mostly in subsidized housing complexes. Most of this housing is designated for elderly people only, not people with disabilities. Some privately owned housing (like some apartments) is accessible, but generally costs more to rent. Housing assistance programs that may help pay for rent in these apartments do not always provide enough assistance to cover the increased cost for accessibility.

What should I know about how to improve housing assistance for people with disabilities?

Planning for how housing assistance is spent, and how public housing is controlled, is required. The local and state housing agencies, as well as the Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), control planning.

Unfortunately, the agencies that control the planning processes do not encourage the input of people with disabilities - input has been non-existent, or fragmented by only addressing specific disabilities.

We lack coalitions of disability groups to advocate for state and local housing authorities to better address the unmet housing needs of people with disabilities.

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