The United States faces a significant shortage of affordable rental housing that, under current policies, could take more than a century to resolve in most parts of the country, according to a recent report by the National Multifamily Housing Council and the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate.

The report, titled the Housing Affordability Toolkit, highlights that over 22.4 million renter households—approximately half of all renters nationwide—are considered "rent burdened," meaning they allocate more than 30 percent of their income toward housing costs. The authors attribute this widespread strain largely to insufficient housing construction over recent decades and a pace of new development that fails to match growing demand.

Matthew Kwatinetz, director of the N.Y.U. Urban Lab and the report’s lead author, described the crisis as one that is solvable but criticized current strategies as inadequate. “This is a tractable problem — we can solve this,” he said, emphasizing the need for policy reforms to accelerate housing production.

The report proposes several measures to address the shortage, including expanding tax incentives for developers and loosening regulatory constraints that can delay or limit new construction. It also underscores the importance of preserving existing affordable units, many of which remain unregulated and are increasingly at risk as rising market prices erode their affordability. One approach recommended involves local acquisition funds offering concessional loans paired with deed restrictions to maintain long-term affordability.

Among all states, the study identifies only North Carolina as positioned to eliminate its rent burden problem within a generation, defined as 35 years. This is attributed to relatively low construction costs, allowing developers to offer more affordable rents while sustaining profitability. The cities of Charlotte and Raleigh also benefit from combining local subsidies with federal programs to expand affordable housing options.

These findings shed light on the scale and complexity of the nation’s affordable housing deficit and the significant changes needed to address it effectively. Without intensified efforts and innovative policy tools, experts warn that many renter households will continue to face cost burdens well into the future.