For families living in stand-alone rentals, tenant organizing can be more challenging, but in the face of investor ownership, just as necessary as the tenants in multi-family properties. Check out this article on how some tenants managed to build a scattered network:
“The research also shows that rent stabilization does not cause the problems that critics sometimes associate with it. In fact, no study, anywhere in the country, has shown a decline in new construction as a result of rent stabilization.”
Last fall, RHLS client Federation Housing celebrated the ribbon-cutting on the Daniel B. Green House in Trevose. RHLS's Kim Dolan worked on this development, helping to bring sixty new affordable homes for seniors to the increasingly-expensive Bucks County. Read more on our website:
" A little bit of stability, it turns out, goes a very long way." Read what Scotland is doing to help its immigrant population stay housed.
Upstate New York municipalities are eager to adopt stronger tenant protections, such as the Good Cause Eviction Law. This law guarantees lease renewals as long as tenants pay their rent and abide by their lease agreements.
Rural homelessness is harder to see than urban, but the same problems confront people trying to find and keep affordable housing. Read more from this Indiana news article:
“We are all moving in a unified way to attempt to do what has never been done in the city of Philadelphia before. And that is to create a manufacturing hub for housing,” says the Philadelphia mayor, what do you think?
Regional Housing Legal Services to Provide Legal Services to Delaware Nonprofits Creating, Protecting Affordable Homes:
Seniors are particularly vulnerable to rapidly rising housing prices, forcing some creative solutions to help them. Read more about some PA programs:https://buff.ly/qZSyIdp
The housing shortage is a complex issue that will take many strategies to resolve. Read more about what Philadelphia is doing:
RHLS attorneys worked with Mt Vernon Manor on this development, and recently attended the ribbon cutting. Read more about this new affordable housing in Philadelphia.
"Dina Schlossberg, ED of nonprofit law firm RHLS, said she was grateful that housing is finally a top priority for state government. The governor’s plan, she said, combines a focus on the need for more construction with ambitious ideas to help vulnerable residents."
RHLS worked with Covenant House Philadelphia last summer on a rehab project to help young people aging out of foster care. This group is particularly vulnerable as they enter adulthood without family support. Read more about our work:
Lessons from 3 cities: read this profile of mayors who worked hard to bring more housing to their cities, and see what we can learn from them.
This article from India tells the story of a builder who sold unfinished properties and then left. The new homeowners were able to call on a gov't agency for redress against the builder, a process that would otherwise be burdensome and costly. What do you think? Good idea?
Read about the residents in Philadelphia as they organize against gentrification. "Participants learned how to stay in the loop on proposed development projects, the importance of attending zoning meetings, and ways to create more affordable housing in the area." buff.ly/PqlARuv
This article asks the simple question, "We must ask the critics of inclusionary housing a specific, uncomfortable question: If we eliminate these requirements tomorrow, will the private market build a single unit affordable to a janitor?"
Philanthropy is encouraged to weigh in on ideas for building more affordable housing, with deregulation touted as the best strategy. Instead, the author argues, they should support housing production, tenant protections, and zoning reform. Read more, tell us what you think.
A bit of positive news for seniors in Philadelphia, the dilapidated Brith Shalom building will be completely rehabbed, and former residents able to return.
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RHLS worked with @WCRP on the Linda Lockman-King Apartments, read more about this development, coming soon to West Philadelphia, on our website!
A study from Georgia shows that families with unstable incomes end up paying much more for housing in the form of long-term hotel rentals. But it doesn't need to be this way! There are You can listen to the interview here:
Not just thoughts and prayers, but action, here is an example of how churches are stepping up to create homes:
Pennsylvania needs more housing, especially affordable housing. At the same time, we need to fix the homes that we have. We support a bipartisan, statewide strategy to build more homes in the commonwealth. Read how the legislature is looking ahead to progress:
Many ideas are floating around about how to help more people get the down payment that they need to buy a home. This article suggests a targeted savings plan similar to a 401 (k) or a PA 529. What do you think?
RHLS joined the Coalition for Equitable Energy and Housing in Pennsylvania to submit recommendations on PA Act 129. As the PUC prepares to oversee Phase 5, it is more important than ever to help multi-family residences bring down their utility costs. Read more on our website:
We are glad to see that PECO is increasing its aid to low-income consumers, but as PULP ED Liz Marx points out, it is a band-aid solution at best. Read more: buff.ly/bF8Zz9n
Reentry programs like this one in Charlotte are braced for budget cuts as the trickle-down effects of the last budget bill are felt throughout the social justice space:
Good news, more housing is coming to the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, and it will be deeply affordable:
