U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo’s office released the findings of a statewide housing survey Thursday, drawing on responses from more than 5,000 Idahoans to document the affordability pressures weighing on both renters and homeowners across the state.

Renters Feeling the Squeeze

The survey, conducted in 2025, found that renters at nearly every income level are stretching well beyond the federal cost-burden threshold — defined as spending more than 30 percent of household income on housing.

Among renters bringing in less than $4,000 per month, roughly 80 percent fell into that cost-burdened category. Even among those earning between $4,000 and $7,000 monthly, nearly 60 percent reported the same strain. The data suggests affordability pressure is not limited to the lowest income brackets.

Beyond monthly rent, renters flagged significant barriers to moving at all. Nearly 90 percent of renter respondents cited high upfront moving costs, and 64 percent pointed to steep application fees as a problem. Only about 5 percent of all survey respondents reported using any form of federal housing assistance.

A Policy Tug-of-War Over Tenant Protections

The survey results land against a backdrop of competing policy moves at the local and state levels. Boise passed rental protection ordinances in 2023 that capped application fees at $30 and prohibited landlords from discriminating against tenants using Section 8 vouchers. The Idaho Legislature subsequently passed a 2024 measure that invalidated cities’ authority to regulate application fees or require acceptance of housing vouchers — effectively nullifying Boise’s rules.

A 2025 effort by state Sen. Ali Rabe to restore some restrictions on rental applications cleared the Idaho Senate but stalled in the House Business Committee, leaving the issue unresolved heading out of the legislative session.

The survey results, which show widespread renter concern over application fees and upfront costs, provide a data point that advocates on both sides of the debate are likely to invoke. Crapo’s office did not take a legislative position on state-level tenant protections in releasing the results.

Homeowners and Property Taxes

The survey also captured significant concern among property owners. About 45 percent of homeowner respondents said property taxes were placing a burden on their monthly household finances — a finding that tracks with broader pressure Idahoans have faced as rapid population growth pushed assessed property values higher in recent years.

The largest share of respondents by age was the 65-and-older group, a demographic particularly sensitive to property tax increases given that many are on fixed incomes.

Demand for More Housing Types

Across every region represented in the survey, respondents indicated interest in a wider variety of housing options than the market is currently delivering. The list included smaller single-family homes, townhouses, duplexes, accessory dwelling units, cooperative housing, deed-restricted affordable communities, multi-family buildings, and senior downsizing options — suggesting demand extends well beyond traditional single-family development.

Crapo’s Takeaway

Senator Crapo framed the findings as informing federal policy work on housing. “The input we received from Idahoans shapes ongoing solutions to address housing challenges facing the state and country,” he said.

His office did not announce specific legislation tied to the survey’s release, but the results are expected to inform Crapo’s work on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax provisions that intersect with housing policy, including mortgage interest deductions and the low-income housing tax credit.

Broader Context

Housing affordability has emerged as one of the more prominent domestic concerns in Idaho’s political landscape as the state’s population has grown steadily over the past decade. The tension between state-level deregulation of landlord practices and local governments’ desire to protect tenants reflects a fault line that Idaho lawmakers have yet to fully resolve. Crapo’s survey adds a formal data layer to a debate that has largely played out through anecdote and advocacy.

Idaho’s congressional delegation has taken an active role in state infrastructure and community development issues in recent months. Rep. Mike Simpson recently secured $750,000 for a Rexburg hospital radiology upgrade through a House appropriations measure, and Sen. Jim Risch advanced three public lands and water bills through the Senate Energy Committee earlier this year.