RICHMOND, Va. - With the skyrocketing cost of housing, a Virginia lawmaker has proposed an alternative to the traditional apartment security deposit.
House Bill 1333 aims to let landlords accept security deposit insurance instead of what can amount to thousands of dollars for first and last month's rent. Del. Mark Keam - D-Fairfax, who introduced the bill last week, says his plan solves two problems: providing landlords with security for damages, and giving renters a much less expensive way to move in.
"The most important problem that we're facing is the lack of affordable housing," says Keam. "And the cash crunch of coming up with two months' worth of security deposit is a barrier to many people who would like to move out on their own."
He notes that insurance premiums would most likely be less than $13 a month on a $2000/month apartment. Landlords in New York have welcomed damage insurance provided by start-up firm Rhino, and other companies offer similar products.
Keam's proposal is based on a cutting-edge ordinance passed in Cincinnati this month. It's the first in the nation to give renters the option of paying security deposits in six monthly installments, or getting damage insurance.
Keam says more than $45 billion is tied up in security deposits in the U.S., money that could be in renters' savings accounts. As rents rise across the country, he predicts these alternatives to big security deposits will gain wider attention.
"If we can pass this bill, it's another way of showing that policymakers in Virginia, and the businesses and government, both want to work together to help consumers in an innovative way," says Keam.
A report last summer found the number of Virginians who spend more than 30% of their income on housing is growing, and median rent in the Commonwealth has risen three times as fast as household incomes from 2014 to 2018.
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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared toward improving the state's homelessness prevention and mental-health systems.
Cox said homelessness and housing were among his top priorities heading into 2024. He asked the Legislature for about $128 million in his budget to address the issue. While Cox wasn't granted the full amount, he said he's pleased with the more than $81 million to be used to alleviate homelessness in Utah.
"It was a grueling session, it was a difficult one," he said, "but we ended up in a great place."
One of the bills, House Bill 394, now requires the state's Homeless Network Steering Committee to create a funding appropriation formula to ensure these funds are being distributed statewide.
Senate Bill 26 will make changes to Utah's behavioral-health licensing provisions. It's intended to remove barriers for people entering the profession and increase the number of mental-health providers.
Cox called the passage of a total of nine bills a "historic achievement."
State Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, is a co-sponsor of House Bill 298, changing the state's current Homelessness Council to the Utah Homeless Services Board. It specifies a goal of having more people exiting homelessness than entering it. Clancy said the law also creates standards for programs to track their progress on reducing homelessness, drug abuse and camping.
"We're looking at accountability metrics," he said, "and making sure that as people flow through our system, that we measure success based on how many people can move on to self sufficiency."
Clancy said he realizes that a mother fleeing domestic violence with children will need a much different intervention than an individual living on the streets. He contended that Utah will now have better policies in place to help connect people to more tailored services.
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As New York housing advocates demand state lawmakers pass a bill to keep landlords from evicting renters without "good cause," a new report cautioned them about getting what they wish for.
The New York University report found good cause eviction can create long-term challenges for tenants and landlords, including discouraging maintenance investments in new and existing housing, increasing costs to resolve disputes and landlords screening tenants more rigorously.
Vicki Been, Furman Center faculty director at New York University, said alternatives could help improve landlord-tenant relations.
"One would be expanded access to legal counsel," Been pointed out. "What we know is when tenants have counsel, they're much better able to raise the kinds of issues that might be causing them to withhold rent; maintenance issues, other kinds of problems."
She added tenants are much more likely to go to housing court and fight for themselves rather than give up quickly. Other alternatives include exemptions for different kinds of buildings and increasing the range of rents deemed unreasonable, to prevent sharp increases. Several New York towns have declared housing emergencies due to high rent prices, part of what is driving statewide eviction increases.
Good cause eviction's financial effects stem from landlords being required to prove in housing court their reasons for not renewing a renter's lease. It means housing court cases could run beyond the average 133 days to settle. Been noted the protections do not help people looking for apartments and could affect housing availability.
"It doesn't add anything to the supply," Been pointed out. "Indeed, it may limit the supply, in the sense that tenants who enjoy these protections may stay in a bigger apartment, even once their kids are grown, or those kinds of things."
She added housing reforms like good cause eviction must be paired with other regulatory changes.
Not all New Yorkers agree with how they want state government to handle this. A Marist Poll found some people want rental assistance vouchers prioritized, while almost one-quarter said they want more funding for new rental housing development.
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This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Renaissance Children's Center, which serves low-income families and those experiencing homelessness with infants and children up to the time they enter kindergarten.
Susan Dunn, director of the center, said many kids who have spent time in the 6,600 square-foot facility in Lakewood have lived in transitional housing, in cars, or have camped out with their parents as they work to get back on their feet.
"The children are coming here while the parents are looking for work, and going to school, and just rebuilding their lives. And it's a safe place for the children to be and learn and grow," she explained.
Launched in 2005 and operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, the center has eight naturally-lit classrooms and two outdoor play areas. Kids get breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack prepared onsite by a professional chef. Children have space to direct their own learning experience. And a social-skills curriculum helps prepare kids to succeed in school and beyond, by building emotional competence and strengthening their ability to play and solve problems with others.
The center's staff is trained in trauma-informed education, and mental health services are available for children and parents. Dunn said most of the trauma kids experience stem from living in poverty. Many have been separated from their parents because of behavioral-health issues or incarceration, and adds that consistency is key to their recovery.
"They know when meals are served. Everybody sits down at the table and eats together, so there's that community. And then our classrooms are very home-like. It doesn't look like a schoolroom as much as it looks like a living room and a home," Dunn continued.
The center's woodsy outdoor spaces serve as a natural-learning classroom, which promotes math, science, literacy and other skills. Dunn said children get to connect to nature and experience new ways of learning.
"A lot of the kids, they don't really have a big backyard, and so our playgrounds are their big backyard. They get to use their muscles and their skills to climb and check out bugs and rocks and all kinds of things like that," she said.
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