After a history of forcible removal from their land, Native Americans now struggle to own homes.

Until recently, indigenous people had little recourse against discrimination in housing policies. The 1968 Fair Housing Act has helped. However, data from Prosperity Now showed that only 45% of Native Americans in Montana own their homes, compared with nearly 70% of white residents.

Darrell LaMere, a loan officer at the Billings-based Native American Development Corp., said the pandemic and current housing crunch have made this issue worse.

"Affordability, availability, substandard housing - just everything about the housing market is terrible on reservations," he said. "Housing is in dire straits right now, on every reservation in Montana."

LaMere said housing is a big part of economic development, adding that he thinks one priority should be to help prospective borrowers improve poor credit scores or negative credit reports, which otherwise can doom their chances of qualifying for a mortgage loan.

LaMere said some major banks don't work with people on reservations. It's reminiscent of the practice of redlining, when banks would discriminate against people based on their race or neighborhood. He says there also are some legal differences for reservations.

"We are considered sovereign countries," he said, "and some banks are reluctant to invest on reservations, simply because of the foreclosure issue."

He explained that part of the concern is that some tribes don't have foreclosure laws, so it can be more difficult for banks to recover their losses if a homeowner defaults.

Some financial institutions including the NADC are working with these borrowers to improve their chances. LaMere noted there's also 1st Tribal Lending, which can provide loans through the Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program. It's a product of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"A conventional bank would look at your credit score and look at your credit report. If it was bad, they would say, 'No, we can't give you a loan.' But 1st Tribal Lending will work with you. So, they do help people with compromised credit reports and credit histories."

HUD data from 2017 showed the program had guaranteed more than 37,000 loans.

The Kentucky Housing Corporation has received applications for housing funding from the state's Rural Housing Trust Fund requesting more than $18 million for rebuilding single family homes in regions of the state still recovering from catastrophic flooding and tornadoes.

Wendy Smith, deputy executive director of the Kentucky Housing Corporation, explained very few affected homeowners carry flood insurance, and homeowners' policies typically do not cover flooding. She said money from the trust fund will be critical for helping middle and moderate income Kentuckians rebuild their houses.

"We are viewing this allocation of state dollars as a really flexible source to keep the pipeline of housing work in recovery going," Smith noted. "And to grow it before the big federal money arrives."

According to a report by the Ohio River Valley Institute, approximately 9,000 homes in eastern Kentucky were damaged in last year's severe flooding. Rebuilding costs are estimated to be between $450 million and $950 million.

Smith pointed out that, unlike most housing programs, Rural Housing Trust Fund money can serve homeowners who earn up to 120% of a region's medium income.

"It is really a middle-income [program and] we can serve low-income folks," Smith emphasized. "We can also serve folks who earn slightly higher incomes, or maybe it's two earners in the family. And that's really important, because disasters do not care how much money you make."

According to the Ohio Valley Institute report, six in 10 families with flood-damaged have incomes of $30,000 a year or less.

Smith added long-term local and state funding is critical for a successful recovery and rebuilding.

"We've gotten this crash course in how this works, what the federal role is," Smith outlined. "What constitutes the kind of emergency response phase versus the longer term recovery and rebuilding phase. "

FEMA said the federal government has provided $159 million in assistance to eastern Kentuckians so far.


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Advocates for affordable housing in Virginia are holding a forum today for Richmond region candidates to speak with local residents about the state's housing crisis. Across Virginia, the median rent has increased 24%. Earlier this year, the City of Richmond declared a housing crisis based on low housing inventory. Virginia's General Assembly has taken up legislation to aid with this issue in the past, though it hasn't always been successful.

Laura Dobbs, policy director for Housing Opportunities Made Equal, said there are things the state can do.

"The state needs to invest a lot in housing," she said. "Both on the affordable side of simply preserving our existing affordable housing stock, building more affordable housing, but also on the home ownership side."

She added the state has an opportunity to invest in a more robust down-payment assistance program for homeowners. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates Virginia has more than 250,000 extremely low-income households, but only around 80,000 affordable homes available to rent. The forum starts at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 in Auditorium 101 of the Richmond Public Library's Main Branch.

The Richmond Eviction Lab finds statewide, eviction filings increased almost 4% between the end of 2022 and early 2023. But eviction judgements declined more than 9% in the same time period.

Christie Marra, housing advocacy director with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, thinks pandemic-era protections need to be reinstated to prevent eviction risks from rising further.

"We'd like to see the requirement that landlords provide information to tenants on that 'pay or quit' notice, about where they can go to get rental assistance, if their locality has anything," she explained.

Marra also called for the 14 day 'pay or quit' eviction notice be brought back. She said the state knows what works, but elected officials need to have the courage to implement these policies.

As refugees and immigrant families try to carve out new futures in North Dakota, aid groups said some people are having their lives upended by housing-related issues. They point to costly fees when moving out of a rental unit.

The organization Bismarck Global Neighbors said it's working with a family from East Africa who was asked to pay $6,000 after moving out of an apartment building.

Leah Hargrove, executive director of the group, said the fee was for blanket repairs, with most of it going to work likely to be done anyway. The mother acknowledged some standard fixes were needed, but Hargrove argued it is an example of a property manager going too far.

"To me, it seemed like a really egregious example of a company taking advantage of someone that they knew isn't aware of their rights," Hargrove contended. "And because of low English and being new to the country, is less able to advocate for themselves."

Her group and a local attorney are helping the family challenge the fee in court. The High Plains Fair Housing Center said the issue is happening elsewhere in the state, typically with large housing firms. The North Dakota Apartment Association declined to comment. State Sen. Bob Paulson, who is a landlord, feels current laws dealing with these matters are adequate but would be willing to consider changes if widespread discrimination becomes more apparent.

Geraldine Ambe, testing coordinator for the Bismarck office of the High Plains Fair Housing Center, said in the meantime, they want New Americans to have the knowledge and tools to prevent such situations, including getting everything in writing and taking pictures during move-in and move-out time. She added knowing your rights, such as living standards for the unit, is also important.

"It has to be safe, it has to have water, electricity, it has to be clean and sanitary and structured in a very safe way," Ambe outlined.

Hargrove acknowledged parts of North Dakota are not accustomed to making necessary accommodations for low English speakers, such as access to materials they can understand under requirements from the Civil Rights Act.

"And the corollary to that is [if] we're not enforcing people's basic rights, is that we might also not enforce their security when those rights are taken advantage of," Hargrove explained.