Explainers

For such a commonly used term, “affordable housing” means a lot of different things to different people and in different contexts.

This video and related articles explore a ballooning crisis endangering affordable housing, even as the need for it keeps growing.

This video breaks down the LIHTC rent-setting process, and shows the surprising number of people it doesn’t serve.

A: This term means different things to people in the health sector and the community development or organizing sectors, which can get confusing.

There’s a lot of momentum toward resident-controlled housing. Do you know the three major forms it takes?

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is famously complex. We can’t exactly make it simple, but we’ve broken down the basics, especially those that residents of a LIHTC property might want to know, as clearly as possible.

LIHTC developers must follow strict affordability rules—and fulfill other promises—for at least 30 years. While industry insiders insist compliance rates are high, tenant advocates say noncompliance is a real problem.

Shelterforce has put together a short video to explain what “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing,” or AFFH, means, and the history of its enforcement.

Tenant advocates have long been pushing for a “tenants bill of rights” to codify rules that protect renters from landlords. Here’s a rundown of the top protections housing justice activists say need to be included.

It’s a wonky term with real-life consequences. At its most basic level, the “financialization of housing” means treating a home like a financial asset first, and a place to live second. But there are many more perspectives.

A: So far, researchers haven’t found that an increase in vouchers by itself causes rents to rise.

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?