Older adults age 55 and up accounted for 44% of the homeless population in the Greater Richmond Region, according to a recent annual count. Homelessness in the region increased 20% from 2023, while older adult homelessness rose two percentage points, based on recent data collected by the Homeward VA point-in-time count.

Older adults have vulnerabilities that don’t exist for other renters or homeowners, according to Benjamin Teresa, the director of RVA Eviction Lab. Limited income, medical costs, rising housing costs, evictions and more can all factor into the displacement of older adults.

Like others in the region, older adults face a lack of affordable housing and rising rents, but they have a fixed source of income from Social Security benefits or pensions, Teresa said. They often are unable to have two sources of income to support increased housing costs.

A growing trend is for people to work longer, well into their 60s or 70s, as an effort to afford their cost of living, according to Teresa.

Anything such as unexpected medical bills can impact finances and may lead to decisions like forgoing medication to pay rent, or paying medical bills and falling behind on rent, according to Teresa.

The number of single adults 50 or older who experience homelessness jumped from 11% in the early 1990s to approximately 37% in 2003, according to an article from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. That percentage then gradually rose to almost 50% in the 2020s.

High property taxes add more burden, Teresa said. Low-income seniors cannot maintain the spike in taxes when a home’s value increases over time, often from neighborhood development and sometimes gentrification.

They even continue to live in unsafe or unhealthy housing conditions because they cannot afford the maintenance. Deteriorating homes are often foreclosed or “predatory investors” buy the home for much less than it’s worth, which creates housing instability, according to Teresa.

“It’s really important for the city to be investing in affordable housing that would certainly help seniors and help all renters,” Teresa said.

Emergency rental assistance was successful during the pandemic but post-pandemic eviction filings have increased as assistance stopped. Good quality and higher paying jobs are crucial to help afford housing costs, according to Teresa.

“Housing problems are not just housing problems,” Teresa said.

Leading cause of evictions for older adults

Olivia Seksinsky, a staff attorney at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, works exclusively for eviction defense. Almost 32% of tenants she represented since 2021 are over the age of 55, she said.

Lawyers with the organization provide free civil legal services and education to low-income individuals in need, according to its website.

The leading cause of eviction for older adults is the lack of affordable housing and landlords “stringency” with a tenant’s rental history records, Seksinsky said. Prior evictions tarnish records and a tenant’s credibility, which can hinder the homing process.

“Eviction leads to homelessness just because it kind of can close you out of a lot of new housing options,” Seksinsky said.

Although housing assistance for older adults is available, it is “harder to come by now,” because the need is so widespread, according to Seksinsky.

Older adults may have health concerns, mainly mobility issues, that make it harder to move out before the eviction process starts, she said.

Legislative changes experts say could help 

Seksinsky hoped the failed House Bill 721, which focused on rent control, would pass earlier this year to help deter eviction filings. It was the third time Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Suffolk, introduced similar legislation to stabilize rent.

Lawmakers wanted to see some research or maybe a pilot program.

“When the landlord has no limit to how often they can raise the rent … the landlord can keep raising the rent,” Seksinsky said. “It eventually becomes impossible to afford unless that senior citizen is then forced to go back to work or borrow money.”

A rent cap and more advocacy for public assistance programs will help, specifically with moving costs to transition when affordable housing is needed, Seksinsky said.

LeadingAge Virginia is an association of nonprofits that provide senior housing, assisted living, nursing homes, adult day centers and home and community-based services to older adults, according to its website.

The association advocates for legislation that improves the affordability and accessibility of high-quality housing for older adults, according to Vice President and Legislative Counsel for LeadingAge Virginia, Dana Parsons.

Its legislative priorities include increasing funding, enacting regulatory reforms to streamline development, and integrating supportive services to ensure full care within these communities, according to Parsons.

“Stable housing is key to preserving dignity, improving health outcomes, ensuring economic stability, and fostering strong community support,” Parsons stated.