Ok, social housing!
Talking about the federal Homes Act
There’s an exciting piece of federal housing legislation out now, and in case it hasn’t crossed your radar yet, allow me to tell you about it.
Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) introduced the Homes Act and it’s VERY GOOD! After establishing that housing is a human right, the legislation calls for the creation of a federal housing development authority to fund the construction and preservation of homes for renters and buyers, bundles in union labor support, tenant protections, permanent affordability and more.
From their joint Op-ed in The New York Times:
There is another way: social housing. Instead of treating real estate as a commodity, we can underwrite the construction of millions of homes and apartments that, by law, must remain affordable. Some would be rental units; others would offer Americans the opportunity to build equity. These models of rent caps and homeownership are already working around the world, such as in Vienna, and in some parts of the United States.
What’s that?! A call by Smith, Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and 34 members in the House of Representatives for federal investment in housing?! An acknowledgment that The Market continues to fail us when it comes to ensuring housing for all? A push to de-commodify housing so that it works for more Americans? Gorgeous. Stunning. Remarkable.
Establish a national Housing Development Authority to acquire and develop real estate to create and maintain a stock of permanent, sustainable, affordable housing, built by union labor
Caps rent at 25% of household income and includes strong tenant protections
Stewarded and managed by public housing authorities, mission-driven nonprofits, tenant- or resident-owned cooperatives, state or local governments, and community land trusts.
Sets aside 40% of units for extremely-low income households and 30% of units for low-income households.
Support homeownership by allowing residents to purchase homes under shared equity models and providing relief to mortgage borrowers at risk of foreclosure
Provide tenants with opportunities to come together to purchase their buildings before large, for-profit developers buy them.
Repeals the Faircloth Amendment, which currently prohibits the construction of new public housing; funds critical improvements in public housing stock
They say it will cost about $30 billion in annual appropriations combined with a revolving loan fund to reinvest money back into housing. By the way, $30 billion is about the cost of the current mortgage interest tax deduction, which benefits high-income households the most. BA-ZING!
Sources say — everyone says — this isn’t going to happen. I don’t know enough to agree or disagree with that, but wow, just the possibility of our federal government taking responsibility for ensuring access to housing for its people is uplifting. You really, truly love to see it.
I’ll end with this quote from by community organizer Kristen Hackett for Shelterforce:
What if we didn’t abandon the fight for the federal government, but instead made that the central focus of the working-class movement in the 21st century? Could we ensure that future generations actually thrive, rather than endure similar or worse inequality, exploitation, oppression, and violence? Is this not the radical departure needed to set a new course toward housing and social justice as the 21st century continues to unfold?
Fingers crossed!