Why You Should Care About Affordable Housing for Low-Wage Earners

For all the conversation and money to address affordable housing in Palm Beach County, very little focuses on low-wage earners, those making $35,000 per year or less (50% of the county median household income).  It is commendable that we are interested in supporting middle income service workers:  firemen, teachers, and retail managers.  However, according to the U.S. Census, 29% of Delray Beach households residents earn less than $35,000 per year,  with 78% of those being Non-Family households.  That’s 6,700 people in our community.

In addition to humanitarian reasons for addressing affordable housing among low-wage earners, there are four good reasons to address this need:  

1.  Reduced homelessness

2. Locate low-wage workers closer to Downtown jobs

3. Free up income away from rent to spending on other goods

4. Stabilize communities by giving people permanent places to live

There is a solution being proposed in Delray Beach that addresses this need:  Multi-Tenant Housing Units (MTHU’s).  MTHU's are hardly innovative; they are just an upgrade to the traditional Single Room Occupancy (SRO) building.  The innovation comes in the regulatory structure that ensures this form of housing doesn't become a public nuisance like the old SRO's.

MTHU’s have enhanced building security, rigorous tenant vetting by City licensed managers, and strong City government oversight to keep them clean, safe and affordable. Rooms are $600 per month.  Each four units share a private bathroom; each eight units share a kitchen.   There are 24 units per building max, and each building must be 750ft away from any other MTHU.

Since the business model is profitable, MTHU’s do not require any government subsidies, unlike more expensive, so-called “affordable” units that are receiving $200 million in county funding.  Profits from MTHU’s are reinvested in the units to maintain state-of-the-art security features and provide a good quality of life to residents.