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A recent report by the Urban Institute, titled A Paired-Testing Pilot Study of Housing Discrimination against Same-Sex Couples and Transgender Individuals, finds that transgender individuals and male homosexual couples face discrimination from housing providers. The report is the first systematic, in-person study of housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status.
A recent report issued by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) says there is no state in the nation where a minimum-wage worker can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. The annual report, titled “Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing,” found that in order to afford a modest two-bedroom unit in the U.S., renters need to earn a wage of $21.21 per hour, or more than 2.9 times higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
A new analysis of the LIHTC program by CBRE Affordable Housing Research Services shows that the program is benefiting those most in need of affordable housing, namely largely families with children and seniors with extremely low incomes. The data was the result of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA), which required that each state housing finance agency (HFA) administering the LIHTC program provide HUD with annual demographic and economic information on tenants in rent-restricted LIHTC units.
The ACTION Campaign, a broad coalition of LIHTC organizations, recently submitted a statement to the House Ways and Means Committee in response to a May 18 hearing on “How Tax Reform Will Grow Our Economy and Create Jobs,” urging the committee to expand and strengthen the Housing Credit and protect multifamily Housing Bonds as part of any tax reform effort to grow our economy and create jobs.
The White House recently announced that President Trump intends to nominate Pamela Patenaude to serve as Deputy Secretary for Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Patenaude is currently president of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for America’s Families, an organization that seeks to elevate housing’s place on the political agenda. Patenaude has held a variety of housing policy positions in both the public and private sectors. She served as HUD Deputy Secretary for Community Planning and Development under President George W.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Public Policy Institute recently released a report highlighting the importance of LIHTC sites for the elderly population. The report finds that 30 percent of housing cost-burdened households are ages 62 and older. According to the report, as a result of low incomes and high costs for housing, there is demand for affordable housing among older renters. Approximately 16 percent of LIHTC properties are intended primarily for older persons, a limited supply of LIHTC units to meet demand.
In a recent poll performed by Harvard-Harris, “a monthly poll released by Harvard’s Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) and Harris Insights and Analytics,” voters supported the continuation of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit by 74 percent. This support was greater than any other corporate tax credit included in the poll.
A U.S. district judge recently ruled that a Colorado landlord’s refusal to rent to a lesbian couple, one of whom is transgender, violates federal housing law. The ruling is the first in which a court has extended protections to people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity under the federal Fair Housing Act. The act bars housing discrimination because of race, religion, and sex, among other factors.
Utah’s governor recently signed into law an expansion of the state’s low-income housing tax credit program. The law establishes a new supplemental funding source dedicated to serving extremely low-income households. The new legislation will allow the Utah Housing Corporation to administer tax credits valued at up to $4 million. Additionally, $2 million is now set aside for the State Housing and Community Development Division to establish an Economic Revitalization and Investment Fund.
Matthew Desmond, a Harvard sociologist, recently won the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction for a book based on research conducted in Milwaukee. The book, "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City," studies the relationship between eviction and poverty through the stories of eight Milwaukee families, black and white, and two landlords involved with them.
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