What Happened to Rent Control in Minneapolis?
Minneapolis voters gave their city council the power to enact rent control by ordinance. Two years later, the future of rent control is still in limbo.
Will ‘Critical Race Theory’ Attacks Undermine Urban Planning Education?
Laws meant to restrict professors from discussing how race has shaped public policy could target the factual discussion of housing policy and its history—but professors say they don’t intend to go along.
‘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."
FHA Changes Could Make ADU Construction More Affordable
The Federal Housing Administration may soon allow homeowners to count projected rent toward their qualifying income to build an accessory dwelling unit. While ADU advocates call the change “monumental,” the proposed policy isn’t perfect.
Jersey City Grants Free Counsel to Renters Facing Eviction
Jersey City renters can’t keep up with a housing crisis fueled by proximity to New York City. A new right to counsel program, funded by development fees, could help.
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.
Disability Justice and Equity in Housing
Welcome to Shelterforce’s newest Under the Lens series, Not Just Ramps—Disability and Housing Justice. This introductory article lays out why the connection between disability and affordable housing is so strong, and why it’s so important for housers to understand.
How States Can Use Medicaid to Address Housing Costs
New federal guidance enables states to use Medicaid dollars to support housing needs.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF): Revitalization Tool, Developer Handout … or Both?
Tax increment financing attracts development in disinvested areas, but it also diverts millions of tax revenue away from city services to investors. And some claim officials are using the program in racist and corrupt ways. What is TIF? And how does it work?
When a Land Bank Starts a Land Trust
An Ohio land bank adds to its developing power through a nonprofit land trust.
Who Gets Tenant Protection Vouchers?
A program to stabilize residents whose subsidized housing is disrupted has also been used to support other highly vulnerable residents, but those uses are a matter of controversy.
Colorado Passed a Historic Affordable Housing Measure. Is It Enough?
The state underfunded affordable housing for decades, but voters recently approved $300 million in new annual spending—and more could be coming.
PHAs Could House People with Convictions, But Most Don’t
Policy changes by local public housing authorities can be transformative for Americans with convictions, and for their families.
Albany’s Good-Cause Eviction Law Worked—Before the Courts Blocked It
As local tenant protections face judicial backlash across New York, tenants are pushing for a statewide version of the law.
Federal and State Dollars Could Be Used to Force Change in Exclusionary Towns
Strict zoning policies keep housing unaffordable. But there are strategies governments can implement to change exclusionary housing policies and promote the construction of more affordable housing.
Three Ways AFFH Has Advanced Housing Justice
Grassroots organizers have used the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule to strengthen communities in the past. These examples show what we should advocate for in a new AFFH rule.
Why Bangor’s Affordable Housing Policies Won’t Address Homelessness
After the population of unhoused people in Bangor increased during the pandemic, the city put forward a series of affordable housing solutions. But the new policies may harm unhoused residents rather than help them.
AFFH’s Bumpy Road to Overcoming Segregation
The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule was intended to force communities to take action to address housing segregation and discrimination. How has the rule evolved throughout the years, and will a proposed new rule finally put some teeth into the legal concept?
AFFH: Third Time’s the Charm?
What’s the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provision? How has it been enforced in the past? And what do fair housing advocates think of the proposed changes? Shelterforce’s new Under the Lens series—New AFFH Rules: What You Need to Know—explores that and more.
Reforming Zoning in a Racist Market Still Worth It
In a racist society, markets cause racist housing outcomes, but nonetheless the influence of land use regulation shouldn't be ignored.