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Housing

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.
Housing

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.

An across-the-street view of a large domed building with broad steps leading up to the pillared front. Two people on the sidewalk are taking a photo, and two others are strolling by. The sky is a deep autumnal blue and the trees lining the plaza are in bright fall reds and oranges.
Homeownership

West Virginia Tackles Vacancy With Tax Reform

In 2018, Shelterforce wrote about the Center for Community Progress’s recommendations for tax reform in West Virginia to address vacancy. Guided by CCP’s suggestions, the state auditor’s office has recently passed two laws to change its tax sales process and keep properties in use.

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.
Housing

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 doesn’t equal failure, and the numbers bear them out.

A night view of San Francisco, with a dark blue sky and golden lights shining in all the windows.
Policy

San Francisco Is Fighting to Keep Its Homeless Sweeps Going—With or Without Shelter

Courts are curbing cities’ ability to threaten, cite, or arrest people merely for being homeless. Now states and cities are searching for loopholes to avoid the injunctions.

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.
Housing

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.
Housing

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

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
Housing

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.
Housing

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.
Policy

‘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.
Housing

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

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.
Housing

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.