Worst case need is a long-standing measure of the extent of unmet needs for affordable rental housing of adequate quality. This Executive Summary highlights the findings of the forthcoming Worst Case Housing Needs: 2023 Report to Congress. As noted in the Executive Summary, the Worst Case Housing Needs: 2023 Report to Congress primarily draws on data from the 2021 American Housing Survey (AHS). The report finds that, since 2019, worst case housing needs increased across demographic groups, household types, and regions throughout the United States. The unmet need for decent, safe, and affordable rental housing continued to outpace income growth and the ability of federal, state, and local governments to supply housing assistance and facilitate affordable housing production. As a result, the number of very low-income families with worst case housing needs in 2021 exceeded previous record levels resulting from the Great Recession of 2007–2009. The report captures housing needs in mid-2021, about a year and a half after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated brief recession early in 2020.

This report is part of the collection of Affordable Housing & Worst Case Needs Reports to Congress.