The nation's economic downturn is making it almost impossible for many of Utah's poorest residents to afford decent, safe housing, according the deputy director of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Linda Couch said that in Utah, 76 percent of extremely low-income households — people with annual incomes below $19,000 — are paying more than half their incomes toward rental costs for housing. She said that same scenario is being repeated in numerous cities around the country.

Couch was a featured speaker at the Housing Matters Conference in Park City on Wednesday. The two-day event highlighted issues concerning the accessibility of affordable housing and provided education workshops for participants from advocacy organizations nationwide.

The affordability problem is not just a "renter issue" because in Utah, 60 percent of very poor homeowners are paying more than half their incomes toward housing, she said. The problem is exacerbated because affordable housing is increasingly more difficult for the lowest-income residents in Utah and nationwide to obtain.

"When you look at what's affordable and available, it's that poorest population that has the only gap or deficit of units that are available to them," Couch said.

According the standards set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, people who pay more than 50 percent of their income toward housing are considered severely burdened.

"It's the people who clean the schools and who clean the firehouses and drive the buses — the service industry — that are in most desperate need of affordable housing," Couch said.

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