During this election cycle, housing costs and homelessness have been contentious campaign topics. Candidates have claimed they intend to increase Utah’s stock of affordable housing but rarely specify for whom it will truly be affordable. Now that the election has concluded, it’s time to hold our new representatives accountable for the promises made during campaign season.
Those who face the greatest risk of losing housing due to the rise in housing costs include families, the elderly and those living on a fixed income. It should come as no surprise that in a state where many renters are already cost-burdened, homelessness is escalating rapidly among our most vulnerable populations. Since 2020, Utah has seen homelessness increase 27% among families and seniors and 59% for children. The physical, psychological and social toll on these groups is drastic, especially for children. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network concluded that children experiencing homelessness are twice as likely to develop learning disabilities or serious infections and are three times as likely to face emotional or behavioral problems compared to housed children. This begs the question: Why are so many Utah families becoming homeless?
There are several factors that can contribute to a loss of stable housing. These often include eviction, domestic violence or inability to keep up with inflated housing costs. Eviction is particularly damaging, as it becomes a matter of public record and can lead to denial of public assistance and future housing options.
Evictions in Utah can often take the form of an informal eviction for which residents have no defense. Informal evictions result when individuals flee domestic violence, are asked to leave a shared living arrangement or when realizing they are unable to pay increasing rent, abandon their home preemptively to avoid the black mark of eviction for nonpayment. When families along the Wasatch Front lose permanent housing, they are faced with a competitive and unforgiving rental market, for which the average rent is $1,509. For this rate to be considered affordable, an individual working 40 hours per week would need to earn $31.50 an hour. Utah’s minimum wage is $7.25.
Utah’s recently unveiled plan to build a 1,200-bed, 30-acre homelessness resource facility will provide crucial aid to those who are unsheltered and will likely increase the sense of safety for Salt Lake County’s average resident. While the visible toll homelessness takes on the Salt Lake City metro area will be reduced, the systemic problems faced by those who are housing insecure will not disappear. To make real progress, Utah must adopt a preventative approach to the cycle of unaffordability that is driving its citizens into homelessness.
Currently, Utah has no restriction on how often or by what amount landlords can raise rent, provided they give 15 days’ notice. As developer profits soar, rent continues to climb and the state’s growing population is forced to accommodate these increases.
To relieve the growing pressure on Utah renters, the state must implement a rent control policy including restrictions on the frequency and percentage of rent increases. This would provide critical security for renters who fear being priced out by unpredictable rent hikes. Another strategy could be requiring new multifamily developments to include provisions for rent-controlled units in their building proposals. This approach could foster a sense of community investment and open doors to neighborhoods and amenities for hundreds of renters who have formerly been financially excluded.
Critics of this type of legislation argue that it would discourage development and increase the burden on city coffers. Utah’s population growth consistently ranks among top three in the nation. Given the steady demand for rental housing in the Wasatch Valley, it is reasonable to expect developers to reinvest in the communities from which they profit. Utah has never possessed the bargaining power it does now, to pressure those who benefit most from the state’s ever-increasing need for housing to reinvest in sustainable growth. Doing so would ensure a stable return on investment and housing security for Utahns for years to come.
Salt Lake City can avoid becoming the next metropolis to achieve infamy for mismanaging an intensifying housing crisis. Policy intervention and responsible investment of public funds could fundamentally change the accessibility of Utah’s housing market. This is a unique and time-sensitive opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the nation that a housing crisis, spiraling out of control, can be resolved equitably if we are willing to address the problem at its source.
(Dawn Smith) Dawn Smith is a third-year student of architecture and planning at the University of Utah.
Dawn Smith is a third-year student of architecture and planning at the University of Utah. Her work focuses on building community, equity and resilience.
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