Answer: They shouldn’t! There are few statistics on this topic but two years ago a nationally researched study revealed that the poor pay disproportionately more for rent than more affluent tenants. “Renters in poor neighborhoods are excluded from both home ownership and apartments in middle-class communities on account of their poverty, poor credit, eviction, or conviction history, or race (through discrimination).” And “renters are exposed to exploitation on account of their reliance on housing and their lack of options for securing it.” See https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-21/housing-exploitation-is-rife-in-poor-neighborhoods for more information. Have you contacted your representative and asked them to vote YES on HB1563?
An Open Letter to Government Officials Concerning Rent Assistance
The pandemic has rendered thousands of Arkansans unable to pay the rent through no fault of their own. In January the federal government made available $173 million to DHS for rent assistance to Arkansans in 72 counties, and $27 million to Benton, Pulaski, and Washington counties, who have their own programs. As of last week