Federal housing assistance is not keeping pace with rising rents in Montana, leaving low income residents with few available options. That’s according to a statewide study from the Montana Department of Commerce.
The study found that average rents in Montana are hundreds of dollars a month higher than the estimates used by the federal government to calculate the amount of rental assistance it provides low income families.
Cheryl Cohen leads the Montana Board of Housing. She told state lawmakers that less than half of the people who receive housing assistance are able to find an affordable rental.
“I think the initial study results really provided validation for what all of us in the housing and service providing space see all the time with the clients and the families that we work with,” Cohen said.
The study surveyed nearly 4,000 rentals across the state. In Montana’s metropolitan areas, the lag between federal assistance and real market rent ranged from $70/month in Great Falls to more than $250/month in Missoula.
The discrepancy was even greater in rural Montana. The study found real rents averaged more than $370 per month than the amount calculated by the feds.
State officials last month presented the data to the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the hope it will prompt an increase in the amount of rental assistance Montanans can receive.
There is no timeline for when HUD will make a determination.
