Separate decisions made on Wednesday by President Trump and HUD Secretary Ben Carson each put blame on California officials for their homeless population.  Carson rejected a request from California officials that included 50,000 more Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers to address homelessness. And later that day, President Trump told reporters that the Environmental Protection Agency … Continue reading Trump Administration faults CA officials on state homeless crisis

Senator Bernie Sanders outlined a sweeping affordable housing plan in his 2020 campaign for the presidency, calling for a national rent control policy and making Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers an entitlement. Speaking last week at a union hall in Las Vegas, Sanders also proposed funding to modernize public housing, combat homelessness, and strengthen fair … Continue reading Sanders affordable housing plan proposes national rent control

HUD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report finding no evidence of misconduct by Secretary Ben Carson related to a controversy surrounding efforts to purchase expensive furniture for his office.  The investigation focused on whether Carson and his wife improperly tried to purchase a dining set that cost $31,561 as part of an office … Continue reading HUD Inspector General finds no misconduct by Carson in furniture controversy

The City of Seattle, Washington adopted new inclusionary zoning policies last spring to push private developers into building more affordable housing. Seattle joins a growing list of other communities that have used zoning regulations to benefit low-income renters. Inclusionary zoning policies were first developed in the 1970s. They were a response to zoning regulations that … Continue reading Inclusionary Zoning: One piece of the affordable housing puzzle

The Los Angeles City Council is considering major restrictions on where homeless people can sleep. The effort comes following a ruling against the City of Boise by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court said that local governments cannot criminalize sleeping on sidewalks, in parks or other public places if there are no … Continue reading Los Angeles considers restrictions on where homeless people can sleep

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a rule that will make it harder for low-income renters to make housing discrimination claims.  The rule changes how plaintiffs prove that policies or practices cause discriminatory effects in housing, even if that was not the intent of the policy. This “unintended discrimination” is called … Continue reading HUD guts another Fair Housing rule

The Trump administration has issued a new 837 page rule that will severely reduce the number of legal immigrants. The rule changes how officials determine if an immigrant is likely to depend on public benefits in the future. Under the new regulation, poor immigrants, those with limited education and those who have received public benefits … Continue reading Trump Administration rule punishes immigrants who use public benefits