Housing

A variety of resources on housing rights for renters, victims of domestic violence, and other at-risk populations.

Comment on US Interagency Council on Homelessness Federal Strategic Plan

The National Homelessness Law Center submitted this public comment to the US Interagency Council on Homelessness on the next Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, highlighting the need to prioritize racial justice, address housing as a human right, end the criminalization of homelessness, comprehensively address youth homelessness, prioritize the use of vacant and surplus property for people experiencing homelessness, and prevent housing loss before it happens.

Testimony of Eric Tars to House Financial Services Committee hearing on “A Strong Foundation: How Housing is the Key to Building Back a Better America”

Written testimony on the critical issue of homelessness in America and how ensuring robust funding for housing as part of the Build Back Better Act is essential to ending it.

 

Protect Tenants, Prevent Homelessness
This report details the relationship between renters’ rights, evictions, and homelessness and provides recommendations for improving housing security among vulnerable populations. (2018)

Public Charge Information and Resources

The Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Campaign has important information on the proposed changes to the regulations on being considered a public charge in immigration. This status can negatively impact immigration applications, and potentially cause them to be denied. The information provided includes a resources page with fact sheets, FAQs, and other useful documents.

Public Property/Public Need: A Toolkit for Using Vacant Federal Property to End Homelessness
This toolkit by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty will help public and private non-profit service providers obtain unused federal land and real property to serve and house homeless people. Under Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Title V), local governments, state agencies, and non-profit groups that serve homeless people have a right of first refusal to certain property that is no longer needed by the federal government. The federal government will convey these properties by deed or lease to successful applicants for free. This toolkit provides an overview of the Title V program, and answers many commonly asked questions about how to identify and successfully apply for available properties. (2017)

Download the Powerpoint presentation here.

Eviction (without) Notice: Renters and the Foreclosure Crisis
This report focuses on a critically important, but often overlooked, aspect of the foreclosure crisis: its impact on tenants. A 2009 federal law, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (“PTFA”), created important new rights for tenants living in foreclosed properties. Many tenants and their advocates are unaware of these rights, however, and banks and their agents are often in violation of the law. This report reviews the impact of foreclosure on tenants, summarizes the provisions of the new law, describes ongoing violations of the PTFA, and provides a review of changes in state law since the PTFA’s enactment.

Related Report

This report discusses Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which allows vacant federal property to be used, for free, by eligible groups who provide housing or services to homeless persons. Protecting and expanding the ability of homeless service providers to access unused federal property is a critical part of the effort to end and prevent homelessness.

Fair Housing Assessment Tools

The following letters explain what happen when communities criminalize homelessness or otherwise exclude people experiencing homelessness from public space:

Utilizing the Base Closure Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act: A Toolkit for Nonprofits
This toolkit explains the process of applying for surplus federal property to be used to provide homeless services, under the 1994 Base Closure Act

PTFA Fact Sheet
This fact sheet gives a brief overview of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act.

There’s No Place Like Home: State Laws that Protect Housing Rights for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence
In 2005, in response to Congressional findings that families are discriminated against, denied access to, and evicted from housing because of their status as survivors of domestic violence, Congress reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and included new housing protections for these survivors. While VAWA provides federal housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, its protections are limited. To fill the gap, many states have enacted legislation that goes beyond the limited protections offered in VAWA. In this 50 state review, we summarize the canon of state laws designed to counteract some of the common housing problems faced by victims of domestic violence.

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