ABSTRACT
One major challenge faced by poor households is fi nding safe and affordable housing. In rural areas, there may not always be an adequate quantity of rentable housing stock. In urban areas, housing may be available but not affordable. The federal and local governments (states rarely play much of a role in this area) help to subsidize the costs of fi nding adequate residences through one of three basic categories. The fi rst are tenant-based vouchers, in which the recipients fi nd housing on the private market, and the government helps them pay the rent. The second category is the reverse of the fi rst, in which in the government subsidizes landlords directly in return for them charging below-market rates for their rentals, which the households pay for on their own. Finally, there is public housing, where the government itself owns and operates the housing, and charges below-market rates for it. We will talk about each of these in turn.
