‘Message received’ on call for housing task force as Indiana slips in affordability

In light of a new report finding Indiana’s housing affordability worsened over the last year, a group of advocates on Thursday called on Gov. Eric Holcomb to establish a dedicated task force, saying lawmakers haven’t done enough to solve the state’s housing crisis.

An analysis from Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that the Hoosier State now ranks slightly below the national average for its affordable housing supply. In terms of the housing cost burden for extremely low-income renter households, Indiana is now 10th worst in the nation.

“The supply of affordable rental housing for extremely low-income households remains deeply inadequate nationwide and specifically here in Indiana,” said Aspen Clemons, the executive director of Prosperity Indiana. “… We often hear that Indiana is an affordable place to live. The data contained in today’s report reveals that—for a growing number of Hoosiers, particularly extremely low-income Hoosier households, aging Hoosiers, Black Hoosiers and brown Hoosiers—this claim is simply untrue.”

In response, the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition called on Holcomb to establish a task force in the vein of his public health commission, which advanced a significant measure to increase state funding for local public health efforts. The group acknowledged efforts by Holcomb in the past, including a veto on a controversial measure and support during the COVID-19 pandemic but said more work was needed.

In response, Holcomb highlighted recent legislative efforts and noted that roughly one-third of requests for state READI funding were housing related.

“But message received by those folks because we do find ourselves in a global environment. Certainly in our nation, where mortgage rates are high, people are holding onto their homes because they don’t want to fall into a higher mortgage rate which puts pressure on the system,” Holcomb said during an unrelated press availability later that day. “But here in Indiana, we have done a lot to make sure that local communities, homebuyers—whether you’re renting or owning—have some assistance where eligible.”

The report

Roughly 210,000 Hoosiers qualify as extremely low income, meaning their incomes fall below the poverty level or below 30% of their area median income, whichever is greater. But that group, which grew from the 2023 report, only has access to 70,000 affordable and available housing units, a decrease from the previous year.

For every 100 low-income households, there are roughly 34 units available. Additionally, 76% of these families are “severely house cost burdened.”

“What this means is that they spend more than 50% of their income on housing, leaving very little leftover for food, health care and other basic necessities for life,” said Clemons.

The national average for the number of units available per 100 families is 33.89, above the state’s rate of 33.57 homes. Andrew Bradley, Prosperity Indiana’s Policy Director, notes that traditionally expensive states—including Hawaii, New York and Massachusetts—now rank higher than Indiana for affordability. Every Midwest state, with the exception of Nebraska, has a better rate when it comes to affordable and available housing for vulnerable renters.

“This report confirms what Indiana’s housing advocates have been saying for years: that the state’s largest housing gaps and cost burdens are borne by the lowest-income Hoosier renters, who make up the most vulnerable populations in the state,” Bradley said.

He noted that one-third of extremely low-income households were in the workforce and another 28% were elderly. An additional 22% were disabled. In total, 71% worked more than part time. Extremely low-income renters were also disproportionately likely to be Hoosiers of color.

Additional speakers at the Thursday event included: Kim Irwin, of Health by Design and the Indiana Public Health Association; Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, of the Coalition of Homelessness Intervention and Prevention; Derris “Dee” Ross, of the Ross Foundation; Tirish Jacobs, a graduate of the St. Vincent de Paul’s Changing Lives Forever; Lauren Murfee, of the Community Action Poverty Institute; and Alexander Mingus, of the Indiana Catholic Conference.

Several other non-profit organizations demonstrated their support at the event, including AARP Indiana and United Way.

Advocates decry Statehouse ‘inaction’

Bradley acknowledged that the General Assembly previously convened its own housing task force, even granting the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition “a seat at the table.”

But he said, “that task force has not resulted in legislation to reduce the gap in affordable housing. In fact, the signature piece of legislation … ultimately created a housing infrastructure revolving fund that is exclusively designed to subsidize already profitable market rate developments.”

House Enrolled Act 1005, enacted in the 2023 session, places an emphasis on areas with less than 50,000 residents, deprioritizing areas like Indianapolis, and spends $75 million over two years.

Bradley additionally pointed to this year’s failure of Senate Bill 277, which would have substantially changed the balance of power in Indiana’s landlord-friendly laws by allowing tenants to pay rent into an escrow account when landlords fail to make essential repairs.

“The legislature has not yet found the will to move forward with solutions on their own, even while Indiana’s housing crisis has grown,” Bradley said.

Priorities for such a body would include aligning existing housing resources at state and local levels and clearing up confusion about code enforcement when it comes to health and safety in housing.

Advocates have pointed to the deaths of six children in a house fire in South Bend in a home that reportedly failed code inspections but was still rented out as an example of the low-quality homes available for low-income families.

“A commission on housing, safety, stability and affordability may be one of the best opportunities Hoosiers have to identify the root causes of Indiana’s housing crisis and to advance solutions to prevent more outcomes like this,” Bradley said.