Unfair Market Rents: How Inflation Is Skewing FMRs
"Fair market rents" are set by HUD and used to determine how much federal assistance programs will pay toward rent. But with rental costs rising so rapidly, they aren't keeping up.
Proposed CRA Rule Receives Mixed Reviews from Housers
Public comment is open through Aug. 5 on proposed Community Reinvestment Act rule changes. They are worlds better than the Trump-era proposal. Why are some advocates still disappointed?
Something Old, Something New: Biden’s Housing Plan
President Biden’s Housing Supply Action Plan is a catchall of existing proposals, tiny tweaks, and things Congress would have to fund—plus a few genuinely interesting administrative moves. Here’s the rundown.
COVID Relief Funds Filling Some Housing Budget Gaps
As COVID relief funds have flowed out across the country, state and local governments have so far allotted at least $13.8 billion of their discretionary dollars to housing efforts.
Restorative Housing Policy: Can We Heal the Wounds of Redlining and Urban Renewal?
Our fair housing laws enshrine an approach that prohibits us from explicitly referring to race, even in programs intended to undo the harm caused by racism. Now restorative housing policy is attempting to directly confront this history.
Going Statewide to Boost ADU Development
ADUs are typically regulated at the local level, but advocates argue statewide legislation is what’s actually needed to get to scale. California has been aggressively leading the way.
What Happened to Those Build Back Better Housing Investments?
Build Back Better would have made huge new investments in housing. But most of what it promised isn’t going to happen. Would any housing plan have a chance of making it through Congress?
ADUs: Laws and Uses, Do’s and Don’ts
As ADUs gain national attention, cities are searching for the best ways to legalize their development and encourage construction.
ADUs: Defined, Disambiguated, and Debated
Accessory dwelling units are being touted as a way to provide more affordable rental units for tenants, and additional monthly income for homeowners. But some cities allow them, others don’t. So what are ADUs exactly?
Putting in the Labor to Support Affordable Homes
With notoriously high housing costs in San Francisco pushing workers across occupations out of the city and into long commutes, the value of alliances between housing advocates and labor organizers are becoming increasingly clear.
What Can Be Done When LIHTC Affordability Restrictions Expire?
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program has helped create more than 3 million affordable units across the country. But if something isn’t done soon, thousands of those homes could be lost forever as affordability periods expire.
What if Vouchers Aren’t the (Only) Answer?
Rather than continue to find ways to make Section 8 work better, some affordable housing and tenant advocates argue the federal government should instead invest heavily in addressing the affordable housing shortage at its root.
Does RAD Privatize Public Housing?
How exactly does RAD work and why is there a raging debate over whether it’s putting tenants’ rights and housing affordability in peril?
Philly’s 1970s Fight to Revive Rent Control
As rent control reemerges as a strategy to address an intense housing crisis, we go back 50 years to examine the lessons learned from past struggles in Philadelphia.
Doing Their Duty: Should Fannie, Freddie Invest More in Underserved Markets?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are under a congressional mandate to improve investment in three specific kinds of housing markets—but Congress didn’t say by how much, and advocates say they could be doing far more.
Afghan Refugees Face an American Housing Crisis
Resettlement agencies have been racing to house tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in communities across the U.S., but high housing costs and a shortage of available units is making it more difficult than ever.
What’s the Best Way to Judge How Well a City’s Housing Policies Improve Health?
CityHealth revamps its housing medal criteria, shifts away from inclusionary zoning to flexible funding and tenant protections. “We realized there is no singular policy intervention that can address the whole of affordable housing.”
Blame Policies, Not Places, for Poor Health
Shifting blame from people to ZIP codes is not enough to create healthy communities. Here’s how to do better.
Minor Defendants: Kids Are Being Named in Evictions
When landlords name minor children in eviction filings, the negative effects could haunt them years later.
As Rent Relief Efforts Drag on, Treasury is Redistributing Funds
“This is not about reward and punishment … It’s about speeding up effective relief for families in need of housing security and eviction protection.”