2014-006 - Santa Ana General Plan Housing Element and Public Safety Element Updates

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Overpayment 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 100% 0% Moderate overpayment ■ Severe overpayment Overcrowding 50% Homeowner Renter 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% a Homeowner Renter Moderate overcrowding ■ Severe overcrowding Chart 12: Housing Problems by Tenure Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 -2011 American Community Survey. PLANNING CONTEXT HOUSING PROBLEMS Housing problems relate to the extent of overpayment (paying too much for housing) and/or overcrowding (or doubling up) of households in one home. The conditions are related because overpayment often leads to overcrowding. These conditions also lead to a number of hardships for the households and their families, including insufficient income to afford other necessities, undue burden on families, and accelerated use and wear on housing. The 2011 AC S reports that many Santa Ana households experience overpayment, overcrowding, or both conditions (43 percent overpay and 33 percent are overcrowded). The prevalence of housing problems is greater among renters (58.3 percent) than among homeowners (46.2 percent). Chart 12 summarizes each housing problem by tenure for residents of Santa Ana. Overpayment Overpayment refers to a renter household that pays more than 30 percent and owner household that pay more than 35 of gross income for housing costs. Moderate overpayment refers to payments between 30 to 50 percent of gross income; severe overpayment refers to payments exceeding 50 percent. The 2011 American Community Survey reports 31,676 households (43 percent) overpaying for housing. Of this total, 57 percent of renters (21,496 households) overpay and 39 percent of owners (14,897 households) overpay for housing. Housing overpayment is most severe among extremely low and low- income households as well as special needs groups, such as seniors. Overcrowding According to California housing element guidelines, housing overcrowding refers to a household that has more members than habitable rooms in a home. Moderate overcrowding refers to a situation where a home is occupied by 1.1 to 1.5 persons per room, and severe overcrowding refers to more than 1.5 persons per room. According to the 2011 ACS, 33 percent of households in Santa Ana live in overcrowded situations. Approximately 21 percent of homeowners (8,020) live in overcrowded conditions, with many severely overcrowded. In contrast, 43 percent of renters (16,313) live in overcrowded housing. Overcrowding is most severe among lower income, large renter families. JAA 20 CITY OF SANTA ANA GENERAL PLAN HOUSING ELEMENT