Housing

Housing matters. A stable, quality, affordable home is a foundation for so many other parts of life. How do we bring it in reach for everyone?

A graphic showing buildings, some shaded in red, to illustrate Shelterforce's new Under the Lens series, LIHTC: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Complicated

LIHTC: How It Started, How It’s Going

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit was created in a moment when other real estate tax preferences were going away—but at the time, no one expected it to grow into the main source of affordable housing finance in the country.
A graphic for Shelterforce's "Meet Me at the Intersection of Housing."

Meet Me at the Intersection of Housing, with Guest Dawn Kelly

Dawn Kelly, founder of the New York-based healthy food and beverage restaurant The Nourish Spot, chats with Shelterforce's Schlonn Hawkins about the connection between entrepreneurship, housing, building communities, and more.
A view of a city from a grassy hillside. Just beyond the hill is a large settlement of one- and two-story houses, mostly visible by their roofs. Beyond them rises a steep, evergreen-dotted, and rocky mountain. The sky far beyond is white, except for a bit of blue at the right. No people are visible in this photo.

Western States Look to These Lands for New Affordable Housing

In several western states, state-owned trust lands were created to support schools and other community benefits.
An outdoor view of an elderly Black man and woman standing on a walkway in a lawn. Lining the walk are large pots with vegetable plants. The woman, in a blue blouse and white slacks, and standing farther from the camera, has a walker right behind her. The man, closer to the camera, is standing by, but not holding onto, a walker. He's wearing a bright blue T-shirt with a yellow tree design, and is smiling broadly.

A COVID Upside: It Pushed Organizations to Do Better

During the pandemic, community development organizations had to work double-time to adapt to residents' needs. For some, that work yielded important lessons about better helping their communities, permanently.
View of a Chicago neighborhood and the city skyline

Squatters Ask Chicago: Why So Many Vacancies?

Officials in Chicago are struggling to address the city's homelessness and housing crises. So why does the Chicago Public Housing Authority have one of the highest rates of vacancy in the country?
A person in a blue jacket and blue shirt writes something down in a notebook. The person's head has been cropped out of the photo.

Let’s Act Now to Stop Racism in Real Estate Appraisals

In 2022, a government task force released an action plan about combating bias in the appraisal industry. How can CDFIs fight back against the damage caused by under-appraisals?
Open door to a new home with key and home shaped keychain.

A Critical Look at the Section 8 Program, a Webinar

In September, Shelterforce’s Shelby R. King was invited to participate in a virtual “Housing Hangout.” Panelists discussed the history of the Section 8 program, its strong points and failings, and ideas for large-scale reforms.
A young dark-skinned man sits on the edge of a bed holding a mandolin. He's wearing a ball cap turned sideway and a cloth mask is pulled down to show a smile. Behind him on the white wall is a mural of colorful insects and flowers.

Low-Barrier Motel Shelter Is a Success—But Not an Easy One

Many guests at Motels4Now are on their second or third stays—but staff say that's doesn't equal failure, and the numbers bear them out.
View from across the street of a row of six apartment buildings, all three stories, in varying brick shades. All have square patches of lawn in front and wrought-iron fences with gates. At far right is parked a silver sedan. There are no people in the photo.

How It’s Working: Laws That Help Tenants and Nonprofits Buy Buildings

Shelterforce checks in on three communities that have passed policies giving tenants and nonprofits first dibs on purchasing property. Are these policies keeping residents in their homes?
A gray brick building has a red sign that reads "American Hotel" in the front. Two women, both wearing white t-shirts and jeans, appear to be taking photos, but are in motion. On their right, a man with a cap, white t-shirt, and jeans walks by. Three other people are passing by in the background of the photo.

Checked Out: How LA Failed to Stop Landlords From Turning Low-Cost Housing Into Tourist...

Fifteen years ago Los Angeles passed a law to preserve residential hotels as housing of last resort. Now, amid the homelessness crisis, Capital & Main and ProPublica found some hotels may be violating that law by offering rooms to tourists.
View from above of a ferryboat on roiling waters, with clouds of mist off to the right. The water is blue-green with much white foam from the choppy sea

Nonprofit Affordable Housing Developers Navigate Troubled Waters

As housing and building costs rise, nonprofit developers find themselves with strained resources as pandemic relief dries up and tenants need housing assistance more than ever.
Five people are painting a wooden ramp leading up to a white house. Two are wearing white t-shirts and three are wearing blue t-shirts.

Why Housing Policy Should Include More Funding for Home Repairs

Researchers found that older homeowners in St. Louis averaged $13,000 in unmet home repairs. Here's how advocates can measure home repair need in their own cities, and why repairs make a difference.
Several people in winter clothing stand outdoors on a sunny day holding signs. At center, a light-skinned woman in late middle age holds a sign that says "Safe Homes for All," written in red paint. Other people, partly visible, hold printed signs calling for rent control. Behind the protesters are hemlock trees and beyond them, partly visible, are tall buildings.

‘Renters Are Struggling’: Economists Back Tenant-Led Push for Federal Rent Control

"We have seen corporate landlords—who own a larger share of the rental market than ever before—use inflation as an excuse to hike rents and reap excess profits beyond what should be considered fair and reasonable."
A three-story red/brown brick building with white window frames. In the foreground, a thick green hedge. Behind the building, a clear blue sky. There are no people in the photo.

What Can We Learn From the U.K.’s Council Housing? (Hint: Vienna Isn’t the Only...

Social historian John Boughton explains how the U.K.’s social housing system changed millions of low- and middle-income people’s lives—and how privatization has crippled its power.
A three-story yellow building with moss growing in the first floor entrances and second floor.

How One Organization Is Preserving Housing Co-Ops

A group formed to promote student housing co-ops in the ’60s is acquiring and preserving cooperative housing for future generations.

Why an Eldercare Facility Turned to Employer-Provided Housing

Providing temporary housing in tiny homes has helped a long-term care facility keep its doors open in the face of a growing housing crisis. 
Against a blue sky, a view from street level of part of an imposing seven-story building in red and tan brick with red-brick towers at intervals.

Social Housing: How a New Generation of Activists Is Reinventing Housing

Not so long ago, social housing was rarely discussed in the U.S. Today. there are over a dozen social housing campaigns across the country.
A large open space with a staircase that has multicolored balusters. At left is a large mural of people with different skin tones and in front of it is a person holding a small child. Dual handrails on staircase ensure adult and child can safely use stairs by holding height appropriate handrails. There’s another small child, this one on crutches, and a woman in white is crouching beside him. There’s a man on the landing of the staircase and a small girl climbing the steps. Behind her is a woman carrying a bag or briefcase and drinking from a cup.

Cross-Disability Design Makes Housing Better for Everyone

Affordable housing projects should incorporate a range of accessibility features, going above and beyond code requirements.
Six disabled people of color smile and pose in front of a concrete wall. Five people stand in the back, with the Black woman in the center holding up a chalkboard sign reading "disabled and here." A South Asian person in a wheelchair sits in front.

Which U.S. Laws Require Accessibility in Housing—And How Well Do They Do?

Activists have been fighting for decades to expand accessible housing for disabled residents. They’ve made progress, but say that current regulations and enforcement don’t go far enough.
A senior Black woman wearing top and pants in shades of pink with a dark gray sweater, and wearing a surgical mask, sits in an armchair facing a home healthcare nurse. She is Black, with very short hair and wearing black-rimmed glasses, blue scrub top; also wearing a surgical mask and stethoscope, and carrying a clipboard or tablet. On the wall behind the seated woman is a bright blue artwork.

How States Can Use Medicaid to Address Housing Costs

New federal guidance enables states to use Medicaid dollars to support housing needs.