Housing Equity Week in Review

We’re back after a few weeks’ hiatus because of summer holidays. There was much ado this week about the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), spurred by an article in the NY Times (third bullet down). Some of the conversation circling that article are captured in the subsequent bullets.

Here are the latest news stories in housing law and equity for the week of July 2-10, 2017:

  • Given the local context of housing policy, it is hard to find “one glove fit all” solutions. There is a growing consensus that zoning and  land use regulations have made the affordability crisis in booming cities such as New York City and San Francisco worse. Could the policy that harmed one area saved another? Richard Florida of CityLab argues that land use regulation saved the Rust Belt.
  • Suburbia is still largely thought of as white and affluent, while inner cities are thought of as poor and black. A new book by Scott Allard of the University of Washington, called Places in Need, debunks misconceptions about suburban poverty. The author was interviewed by CityLab.
  • The United States spends $8 billion each year in tax credits to provide more affordable housing. A The New York Times article on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) suggests the program entrenches segregation on the lines of class and race.
  • On the other hand, the Washington Post covers a Stanford study (originally published in NBER in April 2016) that shows that building LIHTC affordable housing developments into low income neighborhoods can increase property values and lead to income and racial integration.
  • Daniel Hemel, an assistant professor at University of Chicago school of Law, responds to the New York Times article, in his own post here.
  • In May 2016, Daniel Hertz of City Observatory responded to the Stanford study, pointing at methodological issues and challenging the study’s conclusion, here.

Housing Equity Week in Review

It was a busy week in housing equity and the law! Here’s the news from the week of June 5-11, 2017:

  • The National Low Income Housing Coalition published Out of Reach 2017, a comprehensive report and tool to assess housing affordability in the U.S. The tool assess the rent-wage needed for a two bedroom unit in every county in the United States.
  • The National Fair Housing Alliance, along with other groups, is circulating an open letter the Senate to reject the CHOICE Act that was passed by the House of Representatives last week. The act, which the Alliance refers to as the “Wrong CHOICE Act,” is a deregulation attempt that strips elements of consumer and investor protection from Dodd Frank. These protections, the Alliance argues, had a significant impact mainly on consumers and borrowers of color. Read their statement.
  • Meanwhile, Senate Democrats led by Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2017, which will add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under the Fair Housing Act. The Act will be introduced soon and is accompanied by H.R. 1447: Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2017 that was introduced to the House of Representatives earlier this spring. Coverage via Housing Wire.
  • Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America is a tool by created by Robert K. Nelson et al. It allows users to explore credit worthiness maps in American cities of 1935-1940.
  • “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America” is a new book by Richard Rothstein that explores the role of law in creating and maintaining racial residential segregation. He sat down last week with Ted Shaw at UNC-Chapel Hill and Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) to discuss his book. Watch a recording of the event here.
  • A report by New Jersey Future assesses changes New Jersey has made to their Low Income Housing Tax Credit Qualified Allocation Plans (QAP). The changes to the QAP are meant to move LIHTC developments away from concentrated poverty areas. The adjustment proved successful in locating LIHTC developments in high opportunity areas. Read more about this from New Jersey Future.

Housing Equity Week in Review

Our weekly update of the latest news in housing law for health and equity, for the week of March 20-27, including one piece written by our own Abraham Gutman:

  • Philadelphia city council held a hearing to evaluate the impact of the evictions on the lives of Philadelphians. One solution of for the eviction crisis is extending the right to counsel to housing courts. We, at the Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research, believe that evidence-based legal solutions are always worth considering, via Huffington Post
  • At a time when large budget cuts are looming over affordable housing programs, an audit of the largest affordable housing funder in Washington D.C., found inefficiencies, via NextCity
  • Some warn that reducing corporate taxes would lead to reduce use of the Low Income Housing Tax Credits
  • The proposed budget cuts to HUD are still the main story in the housing world. In Chicago dozens of affordable housing advocates took to the street to demand protection of affordable housing programs.
  • According to FiveThirtyEight, suburbanization in America is increasing in a faster rate.

Housing Equity Week in Review

Here’s the latest news in housing equity and law, from March 13-20, 2017:

  • Inspired by Matthew Desmond’s award winning book, “Evicted,” the Reinvestment Fund published research mapping eviction rates in Philadelphia. Now, the pressure on the city to act on eviction is piling up. Deborah Ross, the chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and Catherine Carr and Joseph A. Sullivan, co-chairs of the Association’s Civil Gideon and Access to Justice Task Force, wrote a letter calling on the city to fund legal representation for low income Philadelphians facing eviction. The Philadelphia City Council hosted a hearing Monday, March 20, about eviction following a resolution proposed by Council Member Helen Gym. Will Philly become the next city with free legal representation in housing court?
  • Dr. Megan Sandel has been on the front of advocating for housing as a public health solution for children’s illnesses. In an opinion piece this week in Stat News, Dr. Sandel criticizes the proposed cuts to HUD’s budget and asks Ben Carson to “Think of a stable home as a vaccine, something that can keep people healthy now and in the future.”
  • A new report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition came out about the benefits of affordable housing. Next City reviews the report in the context of the HUD budget cuts, saying that affordable housing have ripple effects.
  • Senator Cantwell (D-WA) and Senator Hatch (R-UT) re-introduce a bipartisan bill to increase the housing credit authority by 50 percent in Low Income Housing Tax Credit development, via RentalHousingAction.org

Housing Equity Week in Review

It was a national and international first week of March in housing equity and law. Here are some of the big stories from the field March 6-12, 2017:

  • On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to cut domestic spending. Now the administration is considering a $6 billion cut to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This could have major effects on programs such as Section 8, which is already notorious for the long waiting period for vouchers. Story from the Washington Post.
  • The Washington Post also reports fair and affordable housing advocates call the proposed budget cut “devastating”
  • The struggle to create “affordable” housing is not only an American problem. Here is an update on what’s going on in Britain, via the Guardian.
  • What does gentrification look like in West Philadelphia? Jake Blumgart via Philadelphia Magazine.
  • The National Low Income Housing Coalition report on affordable housing is out! “The Gap: A shortage of Affordable Homes” shows that we are still 7.4 million units away from meeting the need for affordable rental units for low income households.

Did we miss any big stories? Let us know.

Housing Equity Week in Review

Lots of questions and debate this week in housing equity and law. Here’s the latest for the week of February 21-27, 2017:

  • After a win for the Civil Gideon movement in New York, Next City asks if other cities could follow New York City’s lead and extend the right to counsel to low income tenants facing eviction?
  • There is a known racial wealth gap in the United States. Many attribute the wealth gap to the legacy of housing policies, such as redlining, that did not allow property of people of color to appreciate in the same manner as property of white Americans. Does that mean that today the solution to the wealth gap is in housing? Not necessarily argues Dorothy Brown of Emory University, via Forbes.
  • Diane Yentel, National Low Income Housing Coalition President and CEO, reflects on Mortgage Interest Deduction reform.
  • Bozeman, Montana cites city building and development code as a barrier to housing affordability. The debate on the effects of code continues politically, but is there evidence to back it up?
  • What does a Trump administration and large business tax cuts mean for affordable housing? Developers in California are concerned in the face of uncertainty as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program might become less attractive to banks and investors, via the LA Times.
  • While the research community still debates the extent to which gentrification leads to displacement, a new study in Journal of Urban Health assess the health outcomes of those who stay. Analysis via CityLab, paper here.

Housing Equity Week in Review

Some interesting local-level developments in housing, equity and law last week. Here’s our round-up of the news from last week, February 6-12, 2017:

  • What would happen if we stopped thinking about our home as an investment? Conor Dougherty of the New York Times argues that if we treated houses like we treat microwaves, the economy will improve and inequality will reduce.
  • Cleveland shared its timeline for first citywide housing inspection for lead
  • New York City will devote $90 million to offer legal representation for low income tenants in housing courts. This is a big victory for the “civil Gideon” right-to-council movement, via Gothamist.
  • The US Treasury and the Tennessee Housing Development Agency come together to provide funds for first time homebuyers down payments in Nashville, via NextCity

Did we miss any big housing, law and equity stories this week? Let us know!

Housing Equity Week in Review

This week was all about fair housing. Particularly, the Affirmatively Further Fair Housing rule and recent attempts to dismantle it. Here’s the round-up for last week, January 29 – February 5, 2017:

  • Two bills are attempting to abolish the Affirmatively Further Fair Housing rule of the Obama administration. A review of Fair Housing, the rule, and the proposed bill in the context of a tradition opposing desegregation, via City Lab
  • Scott Burris and Abraham Gutman contribute to Philly.com and dive into Section 3 of the bill, which bans funds for geo-spatial data on housing disparities and the dangers of that to evidence based policy.
  • Ten States where People Can’t Really Afford Rent.” CheatSheet.org shares the 2016 National Low Income Housing Coalition Out of Reach Report

We’ve talked a little about fair housing before. In case you missed it, we interviewed Christopher Bonastia about his book, “Knocking at the Door” back in November.

Did we miss any big housing, law and equity stories this week? Let us know!

Housing Equity Week in Review

Last week, January 23-29, 2017, saw a mix of national and local-level housing news. Here’s our round-up for the past week:

  • Surprising some on the “Warren-wing” of the Democratic Party, Elizabeth Warren came out in support of Dr. Ben Carson as the 17th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In the confirmation hearing, Warren asked Carson if he can promise that no taxpayer dollar will go from HUD to developments’ of Donald Trump, then pointing out that it was a trick question since there was no financial disclosure,  no one knows exactly what how or what President Trump benefits from financially. However, due to promises to abate lead in housing and to protect from LGBTQ discrimination in housing markets, Warren decided not to stand in Carson’s way. Coverage via The Hill.
  • President Trump’s pick for Secretary Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, lied during his confirmation hearing about foreclosure practices of One West Bank while he was the chairmen and CEO, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
  • As the population ages, housing needs change. Are we keeping up with the new demand? New York Times opinion piece on the housing needs of the elderly.
  • Bay Area housing prices are going down due to building boom, via the Business Journal.
  • The National Low Income Housing Coalition released a statement in opposition of the Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017.

Did we miss anything? Let us know!

Housing Equity Week in Review

Here’s the latest in housing equity and law for the week of January 16-22, 2017:

Did we miss anything? Let us know.