No quick fix for Georgia’s affordable housing shortage

Georgians are struggling to find a place to live as housing shortages and rising rents persist after the pandemics peak. This tent city is a short walk from the state Capitol in downtown Atlanta. (Georgia Recorder Photo by John McCosh) Georgians are struggling to find a place to live as housing shortages and rising rents persist after the pandemics peak. This tent city is a short walk from the state Capitol in downtown Atlanta. (Georgia Recorder Photo by John McCosh)

By Aaleah McConnell / Georgia Recorder August 27, 2023 8 min read

The supply of affordable housing units is at extreme lows in Georgia in the wake of the pandemic, leading to higher rents and greater homelessness among single adults and families.

Advocates across the state are calling for action, although some proposed solutions — like calls to repeal Georgia’s long-standing ban on rent control — have proven to be a nonstarter.

Across the state, the number of units deemed affordable, with rents below $600, dropped significantly by about 67,000 residences between 2019 and 2021, according to a report released this year from the Joint Center of Housing Studies for Harvard University. Monthly rent of $600 is considered the maximum amount affordable to households bringing in $24,000 or less a year.

Georgia is among the states with one of the most severe losses in low-cost rental stock in the nation, according to the study.