Shelby R. King

As the country’s mental health, substance use, homelessness, and affordability crises collide, traditional affordable housing providers say they’re being pushed to fill the gaps left by underfunded supportive systems—without the money, staff, or resources to do so.

Affordable housing has never been easy to finance. Now, with rising insurance, debt, and operating costs outpacing rents and subsidies, developers say it’s getting harder to make the math work.

Portland’s REACH CDC recently offloaded a 23-unit legacy building and 66 scattered-site homes—not because the mission has changed, but because the math has. The industry veteran’s portfolio triage offers a bellwether look at how rising costs, rent arrears, and aging properties are forcing even well-run nonprofits to rethink what they can afford to own.

A project in Portland, Oregon, aims to turn aging rentals into affordable condos, offering lower price points and a path to ownership. But that affordability currently rests on temporary subsidies and market goodwill. For tenants who can’t buy—and future buyers looking for affordability—the risks are significant.

The Healthy Homes Ordinance is supposed to help fix New Orleans’s deteriorating rental housing stock. But three years in, many “certified habitable” apartments still have leaking roofs, black mold, and dangerous heat. What went wrong?

The OZ program unleashed billions in private capital. Whether it lifts neighborhoods or just investors hinges on who’s steering the money and how well they can navigate the system. Now that Congress has made OZs permanent, the stakes are even higher.

Many resident ownership plans are thwarted by tight timelines and high-ticket upgrade needs. One mission-driven startup is testing a phased approach to transferring mobile home park ownership to residents without pricing them out.

Home is no longer a safe space for thousands of families who live with someone who’s undocumented. Caught between housing assistance and ICE surveillance, many are forced to be silent—or self-evict.

The Trump administration wants to nearly halve funding for federal rental assistance and make the states figure out how to distribute what’s left. Tenants, landlords, and housing providers say the fallout would be catastrophic, spiking homelessness and destabilizing communities.

We’ve compiled a roundup of the major housing and community development–related actions and changes we’ve seen so far in Trump’s second term.

Housing Choice Voucher holders rely on their local housing authority to pay the bulk of their rent. What happens if it isn’t paid?

If you have residents or clients who might be targeted by ICE (you do), it’s crucial to know what to do, and what not to do, when immigration officials show up.