Rent and household income in Brazil

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to analyze rent participation in household expenditure using the 2001 Brazilian household survey (PNAD/IBGE). The results show that rent participation in household expenditure is higher for low-income classes than it is for higher income groups. Accordingly, the share of low-income households in rented houses is low relatively to other income groups. The limited supply of affordable housing for low-income households in Brazil causes families to live in improvised homes, slums and irregular dwellings.