The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) runs several assistance programs, from emergency rental assistance to housing vouchers.
How much money people get through those programs is determined by what’s called "fair market rent." But that value doesn’t come from Montana.
Michael O’Neil is the Executive Director of the Helena Housing Authority. He said that’s a problem because of how much rental prices have changed.
“Our percentage rental increases are among the highest in the country in recent years,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil said there’s a growing gap between what HUD’s rental vouchers will cover and what rent costs. Vouchers can fall anywhere from $300 to $1,500 short.
To fix that, the Helena Housing Authority, Lewis and Clark County and the state have pooled roughly $100,000 to fund a study into what the local fair market rent should be set at. That data will be submitted to HUD to consider boosting housing assistance in the Helena area.
O’Neil hopes this local study will show the state that it’s worth pursuing across Montana.
“We will lose out on millions of dollars if we don’t correct this,” O’Neil said.
The Helena rental study should be complete by the end of the summer. O’Neil hopes locals on HUD housing programs will see increased assistance early next year.
-
Montana’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of mobile home park tenants, saying landlords cannot terminate their leases without cause.
-
The governor’s Housing Task Force met at the Capitol Tuesday to start ‘chapter two’ in its efforts to make homes more affordable and attainable.
-
A Missoula affordable housing group Wednesday announced the formation of a new housing cooperative on the city’s north side.
-
Some of Kalispell's unsheltered population are banding together for safety after one man was beaten to death in late June.
-
We're on day 86 of the 90-day session. This week, we're tracking the ongoing punishment of Representative Zooey Zephyr, how that Republican agenda has derailed other statehouse business, and everything you need to know about sine die.
-
As the 2023 legislative session sprints to the finish line, tensions are running high over bills targeting transgender Montanans and environmental regulation. Host Corin Cates-Carney and reporters Arren Kimbel-Sannit, Ellis Juhlin, and Mara Silvers discuss what to expect in the final days of the legislature as lawmakers scramble to reach sine die.