What is Affordable housing?
[[File:St_James_Town1.jpg|thumb|Affordable housing, or low income housing, at the St. James Town neighborhood in [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], [[Canada]]]] [[File:Memphis_Tennessee-2014.jpg|alt=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_inpractice_090814.html|thumb|Legends Park West Mixed-Income and Affordable Housing Redevelopment in Memphis, Tennessee]] '''Affordable housing''' is a term for [[housing|places to live]] that the average person can afford to purchase or rent. The cost of housing can refer either to [[rental housing]] or to [[homes]] which are owned by the occupants. People with lower [[income]] can live there. Most people work; they have a monthly income. To see if housing is affordable, people look at the amount of money that is spent on housing, in relation to the mothly income. When housing gets more expensive, people have to spend more of their income on it. Assuming that income doesn't increase, housing gets less affordable. The [[Housing market]] sets the price for places to live. In many places, people who do not earn a lot of money, or who are in a difficult situation can ask the government for help. They can then rent a place, where the state pays part or all of their rent. This is known as [[Social housing|social]] or [[subsidized housing]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Housing conditions - OECD|url=http://www.oecd.org/housing/data/affordable-housing-database/housing-conditions.htm|access-date=2021-03-28|website=www.oecd.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 September 2018|title=Is There a Better Way to Measure Housing Affordability? {{!}} Joint Center for Housing Studies|url=https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/is-there-a-better-way-to-measure-housing-affordability|access-date=2021-03-28|website=www.jchs.harvard.edu|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Defining Housing Affordability {{!}} HUD USER|url=https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-featd-article-081417.html|access-date=2021-03-28|website=www.huduser.gov|archive-date=2021-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive