Difficulty paying rent? You’re not alone as many in Fort Worth encounter rising costs
Marquita Solomon was worried about how to pay her rent after she was laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Solomon, 38, had trouble getting unemployment benefits and then had to stay home to help the oldest of her two children with virtual schooling. It was a challenge to pay the rent for her three-bedroom home. She went from being salaried and having savings to nothing.
“Being able to do things for your kids to not being able to do anything at all was very stressful,” Solomon said.
The Tarrant County area has the fifth highest rental prices among other areas in Texas, which makes it hard for many to afford housing, according to the 2021 Out of Reach report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The reports shows there were 279,622 households that were renting in Tarrant County from 2015-2019.
The rising costs lead many residents to struggle with rent payments each month, putting them at risk for homelessness when a crisis hits, experts say.
Lauren King, executive director for the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition, said for years people have reported that a lack of income and inability to pay rent led to homelessness. This makes it hard to get out of homelessness without using a housing subsidy.
“Affordable housing is not just an issue for people experiencing homelessness. It’s an issue across our community for a large part of the workforce who does not make what it takes to pay fair market rent,” King said.
The minimum wage in Texas, $7.28, is not enough to cover rental expenses for thousands of residents in the state and Tarrant County, according to the report. A person with a minimum wage job would need to work at least 100 hours each week to afford a one-bedroom rental at fair market rent in Texas.
Catholic Charities of Fort Worth helped Solomon find rental assistance. Solomon recently began a non-salaried job in a warehouse. She said the worry of not affording her $1,200 rent is still there, especially since her landlord is considering raising the price.
“This isn’t the time. We’ve all struggled, we’ve all gone through a lot of stuff,” she said. “To go up right now when we are already down is not really beneficial to the person that’s renting. It makes it hard.”
How much does it cost to live in Fort Worth?
Many of those who struggle with housing costs are administrative assistants, or work in the service, retail and construction industries. The average hourly wage of a waiter in Texas is $9.27. Stock clerks and order fillers make on average $14.29 an hour.
One Safe Place, which helps victims of domestic violence and their children, found 40% of its clients made less than $1,000 a month, according to its 2020 annual report.
Carol Klocek, CEO of the Center for Transforming Lives , said it is important for the area to have housing that working families can afford. The organization helps women and children experiencing poverty.
“Landlords are asking for proof that applicants can make three times their monthly rent, but most jobs being created in this area are between $10 and $12 an hour – nowhere near enough to be able to afford those rents,” Klocek said.
ZIP codes 76103 and 76105 have the lowest housing wages needed for a rental in Fort Worth, according to the report. Residents in the two ZIP codes live in the Meadowbrook, White Lake Hills and Stop 6 neighborhoods. The areas have between 23% and 33% of residents living at poverty level. One-bedroom rentals are between $790 and $840 at fair market rate.
Residents living in 76123, far southwest, and 76102, downtown, face the highest housing wages needed to afford a rental home while 76102 has 25.8% of residents living at poverty level. One-bedroom rentals are between $1,390 and $1,530 at fair market rate.
The four ZIP codes show the range of prices Fort Worth residents are having to pay to afford a rental, while also highlighting the need for affordable housing for those experiencing poverty or a crisis.
Why is affordable housing important?
Mary-Margaret Lemons, president of Fort Worth Housing Solutions, said the report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition helps the agency with education efforts, decisions on its own employees’ minimum wage and guidance on affordable housing.
“The disparities between low wages in Tarrant County and the cost of housing continues to grow and adds to the affordable housing crisis,” Lemons said.
Fort Worth Housing Solutions helps over 28,000 households on a daily basis, but the need is much greater. Lemons said if more companies understand how much they pay their lowest-paid employees and the cost of living in the area, it could help close the gap.
A mother with a full-time job as a certified nursing assistant and a Uber Eats driver told the Center for Transforming Lives that her family became homeless every time a crisis hit, like a car repair or medical bills, because of their high rent.
Women with children are the largest part of the invisible population because they usually live in cars, motels or stay with other people, according to the organization. The organization provides rental assistance by having clients pay 30% of the rent, while they pay the remaining balance.
“Can you imagine living out of a car - trying to manage a toddler in a car seat, helping an older child with homework, trying to keep your family safe overnight and trying to look for employment at the same time?” Klocek said. “Every issue is exacerbated when a family is homeless and the dominoes fall quickly.”
Fort Worth Housing Solutions and the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition are working together to provide emergency housing vouchers to those experiencing, at risk of homelessness or are victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.
The Tarrant County’s Housing Assistance Office declined to give a statement for this report. The agency provides affordable housing to residents.
Resources:
Tarrant County Homeless Coalition: 817-996-8800
Center for Transforming Lives: 817-332-6191
MHMR Rental Assistance: 817-335-3022
This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
