BOISE, Idaho — If you’re an Idahoan struggling to find stable housing, you’re not alone. Rising rents, stagnant wages, and limited housing inventory all contribute to an affordable housing crisis that is sweeping the state. So as Idaho grows and sees more people becoming homeless for the first time, and as wait lists grow longer for rental assistance… where can Idahoans turn who are struggling with housing?
“Unfortunately the federal government has also moved away from housing support,” said Wyatt Schroeder, Director of Community Partnerships, City of Boise.
Without as great a degree of help from the federal government as there once was, and with little recent legislation on it by state lawmakers, the burden of Idaho city’s affordable housing crises are landing in the laps of municipalities.
“The city of Boise has really taken the bull by the horns and been leading with affordable housing opportunities, by either using land that their leasing to developers, or other tools,” said Mat Erpelding, Vice President and Government & Community Relations at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. Erpelding is a former Idaho State Legislator himself.
Schroeder says he believes Idaho’s legislators can be doing a lot more. He says affordable housing is a statewide issue, and Erpelding agrees with Schroeder that there is often a misconception that it is limited to the Treasure Valley.
“Everywhere from Coeur d’Alene, to the entire Treasure Valley, to eastern Idaho — [they’re] seeing similar situations,” said Erpelding.
Interestingly: did you know Idaho has a Housing Trust Fund?
Established the 1992 legislative session, the Idaho Housing Trust Fund “was designed to help low-income Idahoans find safe, affordable housing by funneling state and matching federal dollars into local governments and nonprofits,” according to an article by Boise Weekly.
“Which could be a pool of funds specifically used to help people get into housing and to build that housing in the first place,” said Schroeder.
But did you also know: it has nothing in it?
“Back in the 90s we did the right thing by creating a housing trust fund, but putting zero dollars in it didn’t help anyone,” Schroeder.
And it turns out other states are doing a lot more, according to a National League of Cities 2019 report. There are five major tools states can implement to help affordable housing:
- Inclusionary housing
- Rent control
- Vouchers as a source of income
- Housing trust funds
- State tax incentives
And while most states have implemented a combination of these efforts, Idaho is the only state that’s implemented none of the above, according to the report.
And from an economic standpoint, Erpelding says a continued housing crisis in Idaho can only negatively impact growth, because companies need places for their employees to live.
“Access to appropriate affordable housing and workforce development are integrally related and cannot be separated,” said Erpelding.
So now the question becomes: does the state have plans to take action?
“I have not seen any legislation that indicates there’s movement toward looking at the state’s role in the affordable housing market,” said Erpelding.
Erpelding also said there could be some chatter about it behind the scenes, so I’ll continue to investigate and bring you the latest as I learn it.
