The spring edition of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) quarterly publication, Evidence Matters, is available now available. The issue actively focuses on affordable rental housing policy and the role it will play as Americans debate where home ownership fits in as a priority.

The edition also focuses on three other policy issues: rental housing market dynamics, the role of bank consortia in financing affordable housing and the debate over a key piece of housing tax policy. Current rental conditions and the availability of affordable rental homes are also examined in the issue in a feature that focuses on rental market research.

“As HUD continues to address the foreclosure crisis facing our nation, we must not forget there has been another crisis in communities across the country for much longer – an affordable rental housing crisis,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “The body of work in this edition of Evidence Matters examines proposals from prominent housing experts on ways to address affordable rental housing policy in America.”

The first article in the new edition is concerned with providing information to younger people about rental housing policies. The data for this article stems from the Next Generation Housing Policy Conference that took place last autumn. The White House, HUD and the Departments of Treasury and Agriculture sponsored the conference and brought in experienced housing practitioners. The audience was educated on the role affordable rental housing plays in improving a person’s way of life, more specifically in children, families and the homeless.

Another feature in the new edition of the magazine focuses on the role of partnerships among banks in creating and preserving affordable rental homes, ideally without government subsidy. The issue closes with the point of view of three economists: Edward Glaeser, David Crowe and Todd Sinai. Each economist gives their perspective on home mortgage interest deduction.