housing vouchers

A: Yes. Landlords in most places can discriminate against voucher holders, and many do. This often keeps voucher holders in a few segregated neighborhoods.

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Here’s a list of possible translations to the statement, “We can’t build our way out of the housing crisis,” and a handy response to each.

Early research shows that laws prohibiting discrimination based on source of income may improve outcomes for Housing Choice Voucher holders.

A: More than half are elderly or disabled. Of the rest, most of them do have a job! Ninety-four percent of rental assistance receipts are …

For Section 8 recipients, a step toward economic mobility (and community control) can be limited-equity cooperatives. A Section 8 voucher can be used to pay some of the monthly carrying costs of a co-op unit.

Why are nuisance ordinances proliferating nationwide, and who is disproportionately affected?

With the approval of new background check procedures, a criminal conviction won’t automatically disqualify a person from receiving public housing or voucher assistance in New Orleans.

NIMBY fights are a big obstacle to allowing lower-income households access to opportunity. Truth is, voucher holders don’t increase crime in a neighborhood.

A: No! This is a perennial fear, but research shows that additional voucher holders don’t change the crime rate at all. However it does show that . . .

Inclusionary zoning and economic integration in suburban neighborhoods not only reduces concentration of poverty, it directly improves low-income children’s academic achievement. 

PETRA, the Obama administration’s $350 million effort to reform public housing, first proposed in February 2010, has many in the housing field skeptical.