Tag: section 8

LA Isn’t Enforcing Its Section 8 Discrimination Ban. Could This Lawsuit...

In 2019, Los Angeles passed an ordinance banning discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders. But it has never sued to enforce the protection.

Landlords on Notice: Section 8 Discrimination Will Cost You

Landmark lawsuits in D.C., New York, and California make source of income discrimination risky for landlords. 

How to Make Universal Vouchers Actually Work

If Congress gave the Housing Choice Voucher program enough money to serve every income-eligible applicant, what other reforms would be needed so every voucher recipient could find a decent home in a suitable area?

Your Essential Worker May Be a Voucher Holder

How housing assistance programs benefit all of us—and why they should stop leaving people behind.

Expanding Housing Choice Vouchers Would Strengthen the Safety Net

It’s time to mend the housing safety net. The COVID-19 crisis has thrown light on the fragility of millions of American families for whom...

Section 8 Voucher Holder Denied Housing

Despite having a housing voucher—a legal source of income—a Buffalo, New York, woman could not find a landlord who would rent out their property to her.

Q: Can Prohibiting Source-of-Income Discrimination Help Voucher Holders?

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

Section 8 Allowed

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

Q: Why Don’t People Who Get Rental Assistance Get a Job?

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 ...

Co-ops: Resistance to Living in the Land of the Lord

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.

What—and Who—Is a “Nuisance”?

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

Community Fears About Shelters, Section 8 Don’t Materialize

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.

Q: Do Section 8 Voucher Holders 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 . . .

Private Money, Public Housing: Will PETRA Work?

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

Memphis Murder Mystery? No, Just Mistaken Identity

A group of the nation's leading scholars and experts on housing and urban policy respond to The Atlantic's "American Murder Mystery"

HUD Sec’y Resigns, Questions Linger

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson's departure failed to dispel concerns about his conduct in office that led to multiple ethics investigations.

Shifting Fortunes: Trends in Housing Policy and Programs

In exchange for the abandonment of meaningful levels of housing assistance—whether project- or tenant-based—we are paying a high price in homelessness and severe cost burdens.

A Million Families at Risk

The Department of Housing and Urban Development proposes to rewrite the rules affecting the affordability of housing for over 1 million low-income families. Will HUD’s controversial proposal preserve affordable housing or cause significant displacement?

One Million Families At Risk

The dangers of Mark to Market and the needs for preserving expiring subsidized housing.