An Assessment of the Need for Large Units in the District of Columbia

An Assessment of the Need for Large Units in the District of ColumbiaPREPARED BY:Coalition for Nonprofit Housing & Economic DevelopmentUrban Institute Contract #: DCEB-2018-C-2007AUTHORED BY:Peter A. Tatian and Leah Hendey, Urban InstituteScott Bruton, Coalition for Nonprofit Housing & Economic DevelopmentJune, 2019PREPARED FOR:District of ColumbiaOffice of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development Cover photo attribution: “More Monroe Street Rowhouses” by Mr.TinDC is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 ii An Assessment of the Need for Large Units in the District of Columbia Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank colleagues at the Urban Institute for their contributions to the data collection and analysis in this report: Mychal Cohen, Wilton Oliver, Rob Pitingolo, Prasanna Rajasekaran, and Yipeng Su. The views expressed are those of the author/authors and should not be attributed to the Coalition of Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development or the Urban Institute, or their trustees, members, or funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is available at urban.org/fundingprinciples. About the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development Established in 2000, the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) is an association of 140 organizational members working to foster just and equitable community development solutions that address the needs and aspirations of low-and moderate-income District of Columbia residents. CNHED’s members represent a broad spectrum of nonprofits, for-profits, and government agencies that build, preserve, and manage affordable housing; protect tenants’ rights; provide homeownership counseling; advise and led capital to small businesses and community projects; connect residents to career pathways; deliver critical family services; and generally engage, represent, and benefit low-and moderate-income residents of the District. Through the power of convening diverse stakeholders, CNHED advances effective advocacy, public education, capacity building, practical research, and information sharing. For more information, visit cnhed.org. About the Urban Institute The nonprofit Urban Institute is a leading research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people’s lives and strengthen communities. For 50 years, Urban has been the trusted source for rigorous analysis of complex social and economic issues; strategic advice to policymakers, philanthropists, and practitioners; and new, promising ideas that expand opportunities for all. Our work inspires effective decisions that advance fairness and enhance the well- being of people and places. Urban, through its initiative Urban–Greater DC, seeks to inform policy debate and decisionmaking to address persistent inequalities and improve economic mobility and access to opportunity in the District of Columbia and the Washington region. For more information, visit greaterdc.urban.org. iii An Assessment of the Need for Large Units in the District of Columbia Executive Summary This study investigates the need for large family rental housing units—those with three or more bedrooms—in the District of Columbia. Residents have raised concerns that the housing needs of families, particularly families with low incomes, are not being well-addressed. In response, the Council of the District of Columbia authorized funding for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) to assess the need for large family units. DMPED contracted with the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED) in partnership with the Urban Institute to conduct the assessment. As directed by the Council of the District of Columbia and DMPED, this assessment focuses on the supply and demand for family-sized (large) units, and in particular the needs of large households with incomes below 50 percent of area median income (AMI). Analyses of several data sources revealed these major findings: •The District has a substantial supply of large housing units, but those units may be unsuitable for many families. There are 100,900 units with three or more bedrooms (large units), making up one-third of the housing stock. Though large units are present in every ward, they are not evenly distributed, reducing the geographic options families have for finding suitable housing. Wards 3, 4, and 5 have the greatest number of large units, at least 15,000 in each ward. Wards 1 and 2 have the fewest large units, with less than 9,000 in each ward. •Furthermore, large units are not equally distributed by tenure and structure type, limiting options for many families. Three-quarters of large units are owner-occupied (for sale) housing, as opposed to rental housing. Three-quarters also are single-family houses, compared to one-quarter in multifamil