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AP team shines a light on a little-known reason for the disappearance of some affordable housing

An aerial view shows Hillside Villa, bottom center, an apartment complex where Marina Maalouf is a longtime tenant, in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Affordable Homes Disappearing

A passing mention of affordable housing “expiring” caught reporter Jesse Bedayn’s attention amid the current crisis in affordable housing in the United States. He discovered that many affordable homes built under a federal loan program were coming off their 30-year agreements that kept rents down.

He teamed up with data team intern Arushi Gupta to piece together a national image of affordable housing units that are at risk of disappearing, making it even harder to resolve the shortage of affordable housing. Their subsequent story, leading with a tenant whose rent went from $1,100 to $2,660, took a complicated issue and showed how it was impacting already struggling people.

One tenant activist said the story was “one for the bookmarks!”

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