NHPF Industry Report

Methodology

The NHP Foundation (NHPF) not-for-profit providers of affordable housing, recently completed surveys of two groups: 1. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing services in the housing space conducted in partnership with E-Consult Solutions, Inc. which helps businesses and policymakers better understand and serve their communities, markets, and customers nationwide.

2. The general population via a national survey conducted by Toluna, providers of agile consumer behavior tracking data.

NHPF sought opinions on the best ways to gain support for creating enough housing for those who are “one paycheck away” from homelessness as well as “those experiencing homelessness” (54% of respondents selected this term as most accurate to describe people without housing). This report is an amalgam of these results plus case study examples from four affordable housing pros, representing different regions of the U.S., who have successfully overcome hurdles to achieve public support for their endeavors. In-depth interviews with professionals working for housing NGOs and representing 26 U.S. states, found that: “Places that are predominantly liberal or progressive do not necessarily have more YIMBYs (Yes In My Backyard) rather, people may support the idea of building affordable housing (and are often comfortable raising taxes to do so), as long as the housing is not located in their own neighborhoods.” This belief is bolstered in the general population study which found that less than half [44%] of Americans reported feeling “comfortable” about affordable housing coming to their community.

Should “Affordable Housing be a Human Right?”

Let us begin with the definition of affordable housing that the general population agrees upon per our questioning, and how the population feels about “housing as a human right,” a framing that our NGO survey showed, has mixed results in “real life” usage. • 63% of those queried define affordable housing as “rental apartments and single- family houses that a household can pay for, while still having money left over for other necessities like food, transportation, and health care” • 89% of Americans surveyed believe unconditionally that “housing is a human right”

4 • NHPF INDUSTRY REPORT