CORRESPONDENCE - WS-1 OPPOSITION

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Low -Cost Rentals Are More Evenly Distributed Across Building Types than High -Cost Rentals Pentyl Untie (Millions) 4.0 3.5 30 2.5 2.0 1.5 10 05 00 Under MO $650-049 $059 1,099 $1,100-1,499 S1,500 and Over Monthly Housing Cost Structure Type N5nele-Family,Home 0 Multifamily with 2—fUnns, 0Merril ilywith5-19here IN Multifamily with 20 or More Units ■ Mail Home/Other Nates: Monthly housing costs Include rent and utllitlae, Rental units axcluda vacant units and units where nocash rent Is paid, Single family human Include attached and detached author Other structures Include units such as boats and 6Vs, Smmv.JCHS tabulations of US Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey 1 -Year Fatimelve Another limitation of older rental units is that they are seldom accessible to households with mobility or other physical challenges. As of 2011, only 3 percent of rental units provided three basic uni- versal design features (extra -wide hallways and doors, bedroom and bathroom on the entry level, and a no -step entrance). Newer and larger buildings, however, tend to offer more of these amenities: one- fifth of apartments in buildings with 50 or more units dating from 1990 or later provided all three features. Given that accessibility needs increase with household age, it is therefore unsurprising that about half of the renters age 75 and over live in larger apartment buildings (Figure 16). Accessibility features are less common in the single-family and smaller multifamily rental stocks. Just 2.4 percent of renter -occupied detached single-family homes and apartments in buildings with 2-4 units have the three basic universal design features, along with 2.5 percent of attached single-family homes and 1.2 percent of mobile homes. The fact that the majority (52 percent) of renters in the 75 -and -over age group live in single-family homes and apartments in small buildings is cause for concern because these rental units are unlikely to provide the accessiblity features that would enable tenants to age safely in place. The availability of rentals with accessibility features varies by region. With its older stock of primarily small properties and multi -story structures, the Northeast has the lowest share of renter -occupied accessible units, with only 2.0 percent offering no -step entry, single -floor living, and extra -wide hallways and doors, followed by the South (3.3 percent), West (3.4 percent), and Midwest (3.6 percent). While no -step entries and single -floor liv- ing are more common in the South and West, in no region does the share of units with extra -wide hallways and doors exceed the single digits. VARIATION IN RENTS The median monthly housing cost (including rent and utilities) for all occupied rental units was $981 in 2016. Location is perhaps the strongest determinant of cost. In the high-priced San Francisco metro area, for example, well over half (62 percent) of occupied units rent for more than $1,500 per month, compared with 17 per- cent in mid -priced Dallas and just 5 percent in low-cost Cleveland (Online Figure 3). The median rent for a detached single-family home, typically the most expensive type of rental unit, was $2,125 in San Francisco, $1,240 in Dallas, and $920 in Cleveland. Monthly rents vary widely by structure type, ranging from $890 for apartments in buildings with 2-4 units, to $1,070 for those in build- ings with 50 or more units, to $1,087 for single-family homes. Rents also vary with age of the home, with the newest ones (built in 2014 or later) commanding the highest median rents ($1,318) and those built in the 1970s the lowest ($915).