BOSTON -- Housing advocates say the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be contained until everyone has the ability to isolate -- and that means everyone must have an affordable place to live.
Experts on low-income housing are speaking out, emphasizing that housing is tied to health care.
Dr. Megan Sandel, an associate professor at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, says the stress of being homeless or close to it damages people's health and makes them more susceptible to the virus.
"These are pre-COVID era, and you know that millions more families are going to be behind on rent and suffer the same types of adverse outcomes that we associate with homelessness," she points out.
Advocates praise the CARES Act, which put billions of dollars toward homeless shelters and rental assistance, but they say more will be needed.
They note that pre-COVID, widespread poverty and a massive shortage of low-income housing means millions of Americans have no cushion to absorb the shock of losing their job during the public-health lockdown.
Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, praises states and cities that have passed moratoria on foreclosures and evictions, but she says Congress needs to enact a national policy so millions who've lost their jobs and can't pay rent aren't thrown out on the street.
"We are pushing for there to be a national uniform policy that assures everybody in the country that we won't lose our homes in the midst of a pandemic," she stresses.
Douglas Bibby, president of the National Multifamily Housing Council, says his organization is encouraging landlords to be flexible with tenants. But he adds that apartment building owners need assistance, so they can keep the lights on.
"If the apartment owners cannot get forbearance, then literally a lot of them are going to go out of business," he states.
Congress is now working on a fourth COVID response bill.
Housing advocates are pressing for another $100 billion for rental assistance and for a ban on law enforcement sweeps of homeless encampments.
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Los Angeles faces a severe shortage of affordable housing but Monday, the city is asking a judge to put a hold on a lawsuit which aims to clear the way for new development.
The City Council approved permits three years ago for the Venice Dell complex, which would provide new housing units meant for low-income families and people experiencing homelessness. However, developers have yet to break ground on the project. The lawsuit, filed by the LA Forward Institute and community members, claims LA Council member Traci Park and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto have deliberately held up the project.
Katie McKeon, attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said the developer has made many concessions but the city continues to drag its feet.
"The developers made some design tweaks to take away some of the architectural features that many residents didn't like," McKeon noted. "They have committed to construct a parking structure replacing every single one of the parking spaces that's currently on the lot now."
Council member Park did not respond to a request for comment but has previously argued for a transportation hub in the area. City Attorney Feldstein Soto has criticized the project as too expensive. The Coastal Commission already approved the Venice Dell project but the City Transportation Commission opposed it. The city has not moved to tear down an aging building on the site.
McKeon claimed the city is working against its stated goal to ease the housing crisis.
"The city is spending quite a large amount of money to not build housing because they are defending all of these lawsuits that are saying, 'You should be building this housing. Why are you not building this housing?'" McKeon observed.
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles has filed two additional lawsuits seeking to compel the city to allow Venice Dell to proceed.
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Advocates for homeownership in Oregon are celebrating a new bill which sets targets to boost the state's homeownership rate, currently at 64%, just below the national average but among the lowest in the country.
The bill sets a goal of 65% by 2030, with incremental increases every five years until 2045.
Shannon Vilhauer, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Oregon, said while the state also needs more rental housing, homeownership brings many long-term benefits, including better education outcomes for children.
"We just don't want to lose sight of this important wealth building, stabilizing opportunity for all of our communities," Vilhauer explained. "As we prioritize production together, let's keep homeownership in the mix."
On the heels of the victory, Vilhauer was shocked to hear the current state budget nearly zeros out funding for homeownership assistance programs, which does not set the state up well to begin meeting the new goal. She stressed Habitat will do everything it can to restore the funding.
Vilhauer added for most people living in Oregon and the United States today, homeownership is affordable housing.
"If you were fortunate enough to buy your home in Oregon 20 years ago, your mortgage payment today is less than half of market rate rent for a two-bedroom apartment," Vilhauer pointed out.
Brock Nation, policy director for Oregon Realtors, said results from a survey last year found about three quarters of non-homeowners consider homeownership to be one of their highest life priorities.
"Those numbers were even higher for communities of color, where we know there's about a 15.3% racial homeownership gap in the state of Oregon right now," Nation outlined.
For communities of color, he reported about 96% of people put homeownership at the top of their priority list.
Disclosure: Habitat for Humanity of Oregon contributes to our fund for reporting on Housing/Homelessness, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed Washington's first rent stabilization law and renters and advocates who fought for the bill are breathing sighs of relief, after years of effort.
The new law caps the amount landlords can raise yearly rents at 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is less. For manufactured homes, increases are limited to 5%.
Caroline Hardy, secretary of the Leisure Manor Tenants Association and a retiree in Aberdeen whose manufactured home community faced up to 50% yearly increases under new corporate ownership. She said her community is mostly seniors living on fixed incomes and the increases had become untenable.
"It was getting to the point where people were skipping meals and they were not able to afford prescriptions," Hardy recounted. "I couldn't afford my diabetic medicine. It was getting scary and we were getting mad."
Landlords associations and real estate agencies fought hard against the bill, saying it would impede development. Proponents countered under the law, new construction is protected from the cap for the first 12 years.
Hardy spent three years knocking on doors, making phone calls and testifying in support of the new law. She said she was deeply relieved to hear it passed and is grateful to Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle, and Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, who sponsored the bill.
"We were so thankful that they listened to us, and they helped us," Hardy added. "It was a great accomplishment. We're really proud of ourselves."
Nine Washington counties had record-breaking eviction rates in 2024. The state now joins Oregon and California as the only states in the nation to enact a statewide limit on how much landlords can raise the rent.
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