The first step in identifying affordable housing challenges in Colorado is defining affordable housing; the definitions below are taken from the “The GAP – A Shortage of Affordable Homes, 2018” compiled by National Low Income Housing Coalition (https://nlihc.org/) (NLIHC).   According to the report, Colorado is one of the top five least affordable states with 27 homes for every 100 Extremely Low Income (ELI) renter households. Extremely Low Income – Households that earn less than 30% Area Median Income (AMI) Very Low Income – Households that earn between 31% and 50% of AMI Low Income – Households that earn between 51% and 80% of AMI Middle Income – Households that earn between 81% and 100% of AMI.

Each of the above four levels of affordable housing require different amounts of assistance and subsidies for renter households. Additionally, each level also requires different amounts of local, state and federal assistance for development and construction of new affordable housing as well as the preservation and rehabilitation for the existing affordable housing stock.  Affordable housing challenges nationally, and in Colorado, pertain to both rental housing and home ownership, both of which are experiencing significant shortages throughout Colorado.