evictions
Eviction Representation: A Critical Component of Housing Justice
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It should be no surprise to learn that expanded legal representation in NYC is reducing involuntary displacement by eviction by tens of thousands.
real estate
Consumer Groups Flag Rent-to-Own Housing Scams, but Local Advocacy Is Key
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An old real estate strategy called “rent to own,” wherein the responsibilities of home ownership are placed on the renter without the benefits, is making a resurgence.
rising rent
Rent Strike: An Old Tactic for a New Generation
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While tenant politics must evolve new strategies, grassroots tenants engagement in the form of a rent strike can provide the fuel needed to build a national movement.
Nonprofit News
Resisting Predictive Analytics in the Age of Democratic Manipulation
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This story suggests that ordinary people had a skeptical relationship with electronic media long before the Facebook fiasco. What kind of conscious resistance will it take to foster honest democratic dialogue?
Rural
Don’t Blame Rural Residents for a Broken Political System
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The Daily Yonder reminds us that rural Americans seem to be the last minority that can be impugned with impunity.
housing displacement
Tenants in Portland, Oregon Gain New Protections from Displacement
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In Oregon, state law forbids rent control. To protect tenants in Portland’s hot real estate market, last year the City Council passed a law that compels landlords to provide thousands in moving assistance if rent increases above 10 percent force tenants to move. This law is now being expanded to cover single-unit rentals.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Whack-a-Mole Continues: Federal Judge Overrules HUD Suspension of Mobility Regulation
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January 26, 2018; NextCity
NextCity’s “How New Rules for Section 8 Voucher Payments Mean More Mobility for Voucher Holders” is one of many articles celebrating the recent victory of fair housing advocates over the Trump administration. The revived Small Areas Fair Market Rent (SAFMR) rule will permit 24 Public Housing Authorities to increase subsidies under the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. With increased subsidies (pegged to the median rent for a particular ZIP code instead of the median of an entire metropolitan area), HCV households can afford to move into areas of opportunity where rents are higher. SAFMR holds the promise for greater geographic mobility. But the victory is small potatoes compared to the scope of the problem of expanding choice for Housing Choice Voucher tenants.
Foundations
Pittsburgh Foundations Condemn Newspaper for Excusing Racism
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When the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette attempted to defend President Trump by charging that the president’s critics were engaging in “new McCarthyism,” the Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments loudly voiced their dissent. This unusual step by the foundations unleashed other public statements.
nonprofit legal services
Cleveland Group Helps Tenants Fight Lead Poisoning in Housing Court
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A disturbing number of local health departments are failing to adequately protect children from lead poisoning. In Cleveland and other cities, legal aid attorneys are intervening in housing courts to compel landlords to remedy unsafe conditions.
Nonprofit Management
Is Employment Discrimination against Seniors Experiencing “Renewed Vitality?”
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The presumption that older workers can’t compete is a violation, but so is the belief among older workers that just being old makes their insights worthwhile.