Renters across the country now have a new (science-backed) reason to push back on rent increases: it's bad for their health.
Researchers at Princeton University and the Center for Economic Studies at the United States Census Bureau have released a new study, linking higher rent with a greater mortality risk.
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In comparing the various “rent burdens,” or what percentage of a household's income is spent on rent, researchers found mortality rates shot up as their rent took up more of their income. For instance, compared to someone who spends 30% of their income on rent, someone who spends 70% of their income on it is associated with a 12% higher mortality rate.
“We were surprised by the magnitude of the relationship between costs and mortality risk,” the study’s lead author and Princeton postdoctoral research associate, Nick Graetz, told CNBC. "It's an especially big problem when we consider how many people are affected by rising rents. This isn't a rare occurrence.”
Here’s why this impacts renters so acutely — and what researchers say can be done.
How high rent hurts health
Financial experts have long recommended avoiding spending more than 30% of your household income on rent. Any more than that and you’d be considered a “cost-burdened renter.”
But that’s becoming an increasingly challenging rule to try to follow. Between 2019 and 2021, 1.2 million households became “cost burdened” — bringing the total to 21.6 million households in the U.S., according to the most recent The State of the Nation’s Housing report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
More expensive rent means you have less money left over for other essentials. Households with kids that have a 30% to 50% rent burden spend 57% less money on health care and 17% less on food compared to those without rent burdens, according to the study.
This is only likely to continue. Redfin told Business Insider that they’re expecting housing prices to go up in 2024, which will likely increase rent prices. Already, 2023 saw a 1.29% year-over-year rent increase, according to Rent.com’s most recent estimates.
Read more: Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now cash in on prime real estate — without the headache of being a landlord. Here's how