The number of renters in Maine continues to grow, and with it the number of Mainers without access to affordable housing. Unless more low-cost rental units are made available, more and more low-income Mainers across the state will find themselves without a decent place to live, raising the already-high barriers preventing them from rising out of poverty.

This is not a new problem, nor is it unique to Maine. The demand for rental units has grown in the last decade, primarily because of the economic downturn and changes in the housing lending market. At the same time, there has been a loss of almost 13 percent of low-cost housing stock since 2001. Both have led to an increase in costs that has far surpassed the rise in incomes, particularly at lower income levels.

OUT OF REACH

That has put the average, two-bedroom unit out of reach for many renters. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2014 report, a Maine resident has to work full time at $16.19 an hour to afford a decent, two-bedroom apartment.

For Mainers making less than that — and the average wage for a renter here is $9.99 an hour — the high cost means they have less money to spend on food, transportation, clothing and other essentials, or to pay down debt or sock away for their next personal crisis.

For Mainers making much less than that, the situation is much more dire. They may end up homeless, or moving from place to place, making it difficult for adults to keep a job or take part in training, and for children to stay in the same schools.

Housing vouchers are a proven, cost-effective way to lift people out of homelessness or housing instability, and get them on track to a better life, good news for them and for the social safety net.

But federal support for vouchers is insufficient and shrinking. In Augusta, for example, more than 600 people are on a federal housing voucher waiting list, and the number is that low only because the housing organization stopped accepting applicants.

Avesta Housing, one of the state’s largest providers of affordable housing, received 1,492 requests for housing in the first six months of 2014, but because of the shortage of low-income housing and vouchers was only able to fill 168 of them. There are now 2,336 people on the organization’s waiting list.

HOUSING MISMATCH

Some of those on the waiting lists are now homeless, on the street or in a shelter. Some are seniors on low and fixed incomes looking to downsize. Some are paying too much for their current home, or are living in substandard housing because that’s all that is available in their price range.

In most cases, it is because of a massive mismatch between the housing available and the housing that is necessary.

Fixing that mismatch will take additional federal resources, from an increase in support for vouchers and other housing assistance to changes in tax credits and incentives that make it more worthwhile for developers to build affordable housing, and more affordable for prospective renters and homebuyers.

In Maine, lawmakers should continue to expand the Property Tax Fairness Credit, to lower the cost of owning a home, which will lessen the demand for rental units. They should also reconsider the so-called circuit-breaker program so that renters get some relief.

There is also the Keep ME Home plan created by House Speaker Mark Eves, which calls for a $65 million bond to create 1,000 units of energy-efficient, affordable housing for seniors.

That addresses the needs of elderly Mainers, who make up a significant portion of the more than 70,000 households in the state who are paying more than 50 percent of their income toward housing. But the addition of affordable housing can’t stop there.