Efforts to curb housing costs in Washington state are falling short of helping those living in state-funded housing units as the availability of homes, inflation and other factors continue to squeeze renters. Benton County is listed among the counties most heavily affected by rent burden.

A recently released report from the state Department of Commerce and state Housing Finance Commission details efforts to stabilize rents for tenants in state-funded affordable housing while also making sure the entities providing that housing are kept whole. 

“These values are often in conflict with each other, so we must find a balance that promotes the long-term stability and well-being of both residents and the properties they live in,” said Steve Walker, the commission’s executive director, in a statement. “This is the challenge we face as we head into 2025 with a continued housing shortage.” 

A key finding in the report shows that 43% of residents in Commerce’s Housing Trust Fund-funded units and 56% of residents in commission-financed Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units did not receive rental assistance in 2023. Among these households, 43% and 65%, respectively, experienced rent burden during the same year.

In Benton County, 55% of households in renter-occupied units pay 30% to 50% of their income toward rent. The report says the county is among 13 across the state heavily affected by rent burden. Benton County had more than 50% of tenants living in Commerce-funded housing without additional subsidies experiencing rent burden in 2023.

In Franklin County, 48% of households in renter-occupied units pay 30% to 50% of their income toward rent.

Officials say more than one in four Washingtonians are severely rent burdened – paying at least half of their income on rent – while the state faces an estimated need for more than a million new homes in the next 20 years to meet housing demand at all income levels. 

The report highlights several challenges: 

• Increased operating costs, up 80% over a three-year period. 
• Decreased rent collections, 60% to 90% vs. pre-pandemic levels of 95% to 100% 
• Safety and security needs. 
• Housing mismatch – lack of options for people needing permanent supportive housing or housing with services and rental assistance 
• Affordability issues – mismatch between what low-income residents can afford to pay for housing and the rents set based on area median incomes, creating rent burden.