The Rent is Too High! Rent Burden Competes with Other Necessities
The Rent is Too High! Rent Burden Competes with other household necessities, strains income, and inhibits savings. Join us for the AFN Cross-Regional Renter Wealth Building Meeting to learn about focused efforts to support renters.
The economics simply do not work for low-and moderate income families in New York City. Skyrocketing rents compete with other necessities as we see increases in overall cost of living- from groceries to childcare – that far exceed the limits of commensurate income and wage growth. Unexpected shocks like car payments and medical bills can further negatively impact a family’s bottom line- and force difficult spending choices.
By traditional measures that indicate that paying 30% or more of income is a rent-burden, more than fifty percent of New Yorkers are, in fact, rent burdened by this standard. Recent research from SaverLife on New York City family balance sheets showed that:
- 28% of respondents were behind on rent
- 49% paid late at least once last year
- Nearly 20% were threatened with evictions
- Lack of savings exacerbates delinquency and negatively impacts housing security
- Rent and other necessities compete and often leave shortages- car repair and medical bills being the most common
- Many more need help than actually receive it
How can we better support low and moderate income renters make ends meet and create an emergency savings cushion to cover rental and other costs? Please join Asset Funders Network and Deutsche Bank on December 11, 2025 from 2:00 pm -3:30 pm as we delve into two specific ways to support renters by focused efforts to provide emergency savings and expanding access and take-up of vital policies.
The Panel will be followed-by a facilitated discussion on rent burden and how network members are investing in understanding the problem and thinking about solutions.
Speakers:
Sandra Chanduvi– VP of Financial Coaching, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners
Lucy Joffe– Deputy Commissioner for Policy & Strategy, NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development
Tamara Lindsay– Chief of Strategy, CFE Fund
Maya Pendleton– Senior Research Manager, Saverlife
Lisa Talma– VP of Philanthropic Initiatives, Deutsche Bank
This meeting is by invite only. Registration is required. Please contact Paula Dworek (paula@assetfunders.org) by 12/4/2025 if you require accommodations.
This meeting is open to philanthropic foundations, financial institutions, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), credit unions, United Ways, public sector funders, and invited community partners. Specific focus on the North East AFN Regions of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.
