Poor Families and Poor Housing: The Search for Decent Housing in Virginia's Private, Unassisted Market

Abstract

This report explores the differences in housing conditions between those U.S. families who receive various forms of public assistance and those who do not. The findings of this report show that low-income Virginians who do not receive rental assistance are forced to live in seriously inadequate housing, for which they have to devote virtually all of their income. For some even combining assistance from several sources is often inadequate compared with the cost of housing.