CLEVELAND — When adjusted for inflation, rent in Ohio in 2023 was higher than any year on record other than 2021, according to the state housing finance agency’s 2024 housing needs assessment.
The agency also found that vacancy rates for both homeowners and renters remain low, indicating an extremely tight housing market across the state.
For people living on fixed incomes, securing affordable housing is particularly difficult.
Kim Goodman, a board member for the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, has a physical disability and relies on federal benefits to stay afloat.
She said there are many roadblocks to becoming financially stable for people with disabilities, starting with finding employment.
“Most jobs that people with disabilities are offered are not good paying jobs with benefits,” Goodman said.
She and many others rely on federal disability programs for health coverage and also to cover the cost of housing and other expenses.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, an eligible individual can get up to $943 per month in supplemental payments for 2024, totaling about $11,500 for the year.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers $15,060 the poverty threshold for individuals in 2024.
“It’s really hard for people on fixed incomes because they’re limited in what they can do,” Goodman said.
To be eligible for disability benefits, an individual has to otherwise have little or no income.
Data from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency shows the median percentage of income spent on rent in the state has been steadily increasing in recent years, after a decade of decline.
The state of Ohio has no limit on how much a landlord can increase rent between leases.
As Goodman’s rent rises with each year, she worries she won’t be able to afford to stay much longer.
“People who are moving into my apartment building now is paying $750 for the same one-bedroom I moved in paying $550 for,” she said.
In her search for potential future housing, Goodman hasn’t found many feasible options and is worried she could end up unhoused.
Her dream is to one day be a homeowner, but saving enough for a house is hard, especially considering the program’s income limit.
“I don’t need the big, huge, gigantic, five, six-bedroom house,” Goodman said. “But I could deal with something like one of these little townhouses over here.”
Josiah Quarles, Director of Organizing and Advocacy at the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, said Goodman is not alone in her challenge to search for a place.
Affordable housing is in very high demand.
“I think that is the biggest thing that has to happen, is an immense increase in the amount of actual affordable housing,” Quarles said. “Not $850 for an efficiency. That’s not affordable housing.”
To help stay afloat, Goodman has some small “side hustles,” like selling Browns gear and newspapers, that allow her to earn just a little extra money, so she remains within the disability program’s income limit.
“I’m lucky because I’m creative and I have little side hustles to get me along,” she said.
While the future may be uncertain, Goodman saves what she can, hoping she’ll one day have a place of her own.