New study finds more than 1 in 5 renters spend their entire paycheck on rent
Dec 3, 2024, 5:51 PM | Updated: 7:16 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — A new study from real estate company Redfin finds more than one in five renters spend their entire paycheck on rent.
One housing advocate told KSL TV she’s “absolutely not surprised” by that eye-popping statistic, and more needs to be done to help.
“We have thousands and thousands of jobs that do not allow someone to live,” said Tara Rollins, who runs the Utah Housing Coalition. “We need a better inventory of housing for the wages that we offer in our state.”
One Utahn’s experience
Finding a place to live is expensive. Aubrey Johnson knows all about that.
As a student at Brigham Young University, much of her income went to housing. Over the last few months, it’s been even worse. Johnson said she was unemployed after graduating and completing an internship, so she picked up a seasonal job at a Halloween park.
During that time, Johnson said around 80% of her paycheck went toward housing.
“I had to apply for forbearance on some of my student loans that I was supposed to start paying back in September,” Johnson said, calling the whole process “unbelievably stressful.”
Johnson’s excited to start a new full-time job in Provo next week because, she said, it’s all consuming just trying to live.
“It’s just something you’re thinking about all the time,” Johnson said. “You feel it physically, for sure.”
Filling the financial gap
Renters who put all their regular income toward rent payments inevitably have to find a way to fill the financial gap.
To pay for housing costs, Redfin’s study found that 20% of renters reported working a second job, while around 14% of them said they used a cash gift from family. Others said they pulled money out of their retirement funds early (13%) or contributed less toward retirement savings (12%).
“It’s a hard time right now,” said Rollins.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, you need to earn $26.89 an hour – or nearly $56,000 a year – to afford a two-bedroom rental home in Utah.
Rollins said she wants the Utah Legislature to do more to stabilize renters like creating a fund dedicated to affordable housing, making it easier for certain people to get evictions wiped off their records, and requiring landlords to give more notice if rent is going up.
Rollins also said the state should lower the amount of possible damages tenants can be required to pay if they are evicted.
Advice from a landlord
Kristin Matulonis, a landlord who owns a property management company in Sandy, said there are things tenants in trouble can do.
“I think the best thing to do is communicate. Don’t assume that your landlord’s not going to care or understand,” Matulonis told KSL TV. “You can ask for a deferment or a payment plan. You can ask to maybe renegotiate your lease or work together to terminate that lease on mutual terms.”
The last thing a landlord wants, Matulonis added, is to go through the eviction process.
She also pointed out the rental market in Utah is softening, and there’s more supply available.
“I would say within the next year, if your lease is expiring, now’s a good time to renegotiate because there is more competition now in Utah markets,” Matulonis said.
