LOWNDES COUNTY, GA (WTXL) — A new federal housing law is promising relief for families struggling to find an affordable place to live, but local advocates in South Georgia say housing costs are already climbing faster than many people's incomes.
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The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act took effect last month. The law is designed to increase the nation's housing supply, expand financing opportunities and curb some large-scale investor purchases of single-family homes.
For neighbors like John J. Ingram, the housing crunch is part of his everyday budget.
"Hard. It's been really hard out here, you know. Rents that are going up and gas prices going up. And it's sort of kind of hard to get a job at this right now," Ingram said.
Ingram said he has been picking up side jobs to help make ends meet.
Dr. Ronnie Mathis with the South Georgia Partnership to End Homelessness said he is seeing more families struggle with the same equation. He said high rents combined with wages that have not kept pace are contributing to continued concerns about evictions.
"Evictions are still high on the rising because people are having difficulty paying their rent due to the fact that they're just not making enough to absolve the high increase of what now landlords are charging for rent in this area," Mathis said.
Mathis said another barrier can come before someone even gets the keys. He said some rental applications can cost as much as $100 per adult.
For Mathis, new laws are a start — but the bigger goal is making housing costs something South Georgia paychecks can actually support.
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