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

Congressional leaders and the White House reached a two-year budget deal this week. The deal raises the budget caps that would have resulted in severe cuts across the government, including affordable housing programs. The deal also suspends the debt ceiling until after the presidential elections. If the House and Senate approve the measure, it would … Continue reading Budget deal will raise spending caps for next two years

The House of Representatives recently created a demonstration program whose goal is to help households with Section 8 vouchers move to areas of greater opportunity. The Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act of 2019 was introduced by Representatives Sean Duffy (R-WI) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). It was adopted by the full House in March with … Continue reading House passes bill to help voucher holders move to better neighborhoods

HUD recently issued a notice regarding the need for carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in all HUD-assisted housing. The notice comes in the wake of two deaths due to gas leaks at a South Carolina public housing property, covered by Affordable Housing Online here. HUD regulations do not currently require CO detectors. Up until now, HUD … Continue reading HUD issues notice on carbon monoxide detectors after Public Housing deaths