• Reports

Rental Housing Needs Assessment

May 2023

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A city’s housing market is a result of a confluence of factors: regional economic opportunity, existing housing supply, migration patterns, historic inequities, macroeconomic trends, and household preferences, among others. Addressing housing goals can mean different things for different residents: building affordable housing, preventing displacement, creating homeownership opportunities, or repairing dilapidated housing stock.

In Dallas, addressing the needs of renters, who often face higher poverty rates and cost burdens, is crucial to foster a more equitable and inclusive community. Prioritizing affordable rental options can support lower-income households, essential workers, and homelessness prevention. This report focuses on the rental housing needs for the City of Dallas’ residents, with an emphasis on low-income households.

Homeownership opportunities and rental affordability are often linked—in Dallas, trends suggest that moderate and high-income renters who are unable to afford homes are bidding up rents for lower-income residents. Homeownership can be an important wealth-building tool and long-term stabilizer for families. Subsequent CPAL projects will significantly focus on homeownership opportunities.

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  • NEW RELEASE: (2024) Rental Housing Needs Assessment

    2024 Update of CPAL’s Rental Housing Needs Assessment analyzes the growing gap of rental housing supply and demand for low-income families.

    • As of 2022, Dallas had a 39,900 unit gap in affordable rental housing. The shortage of affordable housing units is projected to grow to 76,100 units by 2035, driven by an anticipated loss of 54,000 unrestricted affordable housing units.
    • Despite improvement over time in educational attainment and wages, 49% of all renters in the City of Dallas are housing cost burdened, and some renters are disproportionately affected, including Black renters, senior renters, and single parents with children.
  • Role of Junk Fees in the Dallas Rental Housing Market

    During summer 2024, CPAL began to explore the role of junk fees in the rental housing market in Dallas.

    • 56 out of 60 apartment complexes surveyed charged mandatory monthly fees (i.e., “junk fees”), in addition to the base rent.
    • These fees cost renters, on average, $756 to $984 per year, further eroding housing affordability.
  • Safe & Secure: A Toolkit for Empowering Kids through Stable Housing

    This framework has been piloted with DISD since 2021-22 on two elementary campuses working with district administrators.

    • This toolkit was designed to equip school district staff to implement family-centered interventions for families that may be at risk of or currently experiencing a housing-related issue.
    • The toolkit includes open-source resources (e.g., family enrollment postcards) and data tools that can be adapted by local school districts and nonprofit organizations working with housing insecure families.