Investigators conducting a search warrant at 4:30 a.m. on May 14 discovered no fewer than 27 people living in a single-family home in Washington, Utah. This included three children under the age of 12.
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Inside the home, which had undergone many unpermitted remodels, they saw exposed electrical panels, bedrooms without windows and kitchens in many small rooms. Perhaps most startling was the construction scene in the basement, which appeared to be an effort to make more space for even more occupants.
"Imagine if a fire had started. Most of the windows were blocked, many rooms didn’t even have windows. People wouldn’t have been able to escape," said Jordan Hess, Legislative Affairs Director for Washington City, to KUTV. He added that what drew the city’s attention to the now condemned home was neighbors voicing their concerns.
In addition to the unsanitary and unsafe conditions, police also found fraudulent identity documents and illegal narcotics. Nineteen people were transported to an ICE detention facility and one person was taken into custody on narcotics charges, reports KUTV.
Police chief Jason Williams told the news network that the landlord is currently under investigation and issued multiple citations for code violations. He claimed he rented the property to five tenants.
As housing costs in Utah soar, more people could find themselves facing similar overcrowding situations.
Another similar situation in northern Utah?
While the sheer number of people living in the southern Utah home is shocking, these residents represent part of a growing crisis across the state, says KUTV.
It spoke to a northern Utah woman who said a home in her neighborhood may have more than 20 people living in it. She learned about it from an administrator at her child’s school and contacted the Utah Division of Child and Family Services.
“It hurts my heart,” she said. “We’re so concerned for this child’s well-being.”
The local police department has also been notified.
A full house, a fractured system
The heartbreaking reality of people packed like sardines into an unsafe living situation is not new to Tara Rollins, executive director of the Utah Housing Coalition.
She told KUTV her organization hears from people in such living situations.
"When you look at families doubling or tripling up, they’re trying to stay under the radar," she said. "The problem is people cannot afford to live in our community. It’s so expensive."
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Most Utah residents agree that the state is “in a major housing crisis” or “facing serious housing challenges,” according to a Q4 2024 survey by Envision Utah and Utah Workforce Housing Advocacy. This can make keeping a roof over your head without breaking the bank an almost impossible challenge in the state. The causes cited included interest rates, construction costs, developer or landlord greed, too many people moving to Utah, and insufficient housing supply.
In part, the exploding population of Utah plays a role in the lack of affordable housing. As more people move to and are born in the state, the already limited housing supply is playing catch-up.
For those looking to buy a house, the median sales price was $559,200 in April, according to Redfin, which was 28% higher than the national median.
But lower-income renters face the most significant cost burdens. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is a shortage of over 48,000 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters, many of whom are seniors.
This housing stress doesn’t just play out in people’s budgets, it impacts other areas of their lives. For example, studies have found that lower-quality housing conditions can lead to worse healthcare outcomes, in part because most of their income is consumed by housing costs.
All of these factors make the homelessness crisis in Utah less surprising. In 2023, the number of Utahns experiencing homelessness for the first time hit 9,800, an almost 10% increase from 2022.
As more people face homelessness, this issue has become a concern for many Beehive State voters. In fact, housing affordability was the top concern for voters during last year’s gubernatorial election.
With more light shed on the issue of housing affordability, hopefully, things will start to change in the right direction.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
