Calling it an affordable housing "shortage" implies that we need more housing in order for it to become affordable. The fact is there is already plenty of housing (people live somewhere don't they?) the problem is that it is unaffordable because supply and demand will never cause the rents to go down en masse. It's one of the few limited resources that people are forced to buy that essentially has no maximum price.

Everybody starts getting basic income? Rents will rise to eat up the majority of that income without some external control. The same way we needed unions, minimum wage, etc. we need a collective bargaining system for the renters vs. landowners. Rent control, what have you. It's kind of the antithesis of the American dream but what we have isnt working all that well.