Spotlight on Social Housing
To prevent a massive transfer of housing into speculative ownership in the wake of the pandemic, housing organizers and advocates are mobilizing for social housing as a transformative solution to build community power and address the root causes of housing instability. This LISC Institute Spotlight highlights resources and tools on social housing, with a focus on successful examples of shared equity housing from across the LISC network.
The pandemic exacerbated a deep housing crisis in the U.S. There is no county or state where renters working full-time at minimum wage can afford a two-bedroom apartment, and over half a million people experience homelessness each day. COVID has further exacerbated these inequities, with an estimated 5.8 million households behind on their housing payments, with extremely low-income and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) renters more likely to be behind and at risk of eviction. While emergency pandemic measures have so far held off a massive wave of evictions, reports of illegal evictions are on the rise, and many tenants have been unable to access emergency rental assistance. Meanwhile, real estate investors have raised nearly $300 billion in “dry powder” to put toward acquiring distressed properties that may come onto the market as eviction and foreclosure moratoria expire.
To prevent a massive transfer of housing into speculative ownership in the wake of the pandemic, housing organizers and advocates are mobilizing for transformative solutions to build community power and address the root causes of housing instability. Along with expanded tenant rights and protections, such as a right to counsel in housing court, just-cause eviction, and rent stabilization, housing organizers and their community partners are increasingly calling for investments in social housing as an alternative to speculative ownership that drives rising housing costs and displacement. Social housing refers to homes that are permanently affordable, promote social and racial equity, and facilitate meaningful resident decision-making over housing. Though the term is not yet as widely used in the U.S as in other parts of the world, in fact there are already a variety of housing types that fall on the spectrum of social housing, from public housing that remains affordable to extremely low-income families, to shared equity housing models with a successful track record of preventing displacement and facilitating community wealth building.
With growing interest in social housing as a strategy to promote a just housing recovery, community development practitioners may be interested in understanding the term, different approaches, and the community organizing, policy, financing, and technical assistance needed to create a supportive ecosystem. This LISC Institute Spotlight highlights resources and tools on social housing, with a focus on successful examples of shared equity housing from across the LISC network.
Feature
The LISC Institute spoke with LISC DC, LISC Twin Cities, and Rural LISC about their work supporting social housing conversions, from limited-equity cooperatives to resident-owned communities.
In Practice
A new report from the Democracy Collaborative summarizes how the pandemic has accelerated long-term trends around housing and land inequality, inaccessibility, and displacement, and highlights growing interest in community ownership and social housing models.
Community land trusts (CLTs) are an important form of social housing in the U.S. A recent LISC-led panel brought together CLT leaders to discuss the history of community land ownership, the rising movement today, and how CLTs are helping fight displacement and advance racial, economic, and environmental justice.
A new toolkit from Partners for Dignity and Rights provides case studies and policy recommendations for producing community-controlled, deeply affordable social housing.
The LISC Institute held a conversation with advocates in New York and Washington, DC on Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and Community Opportunity to Purchase (COPA) policies, which can help facilitate social housing conversions and promote equity in housing.
A report from PolicyLink details strategies that cities can adopt to create equitable housing outcomes by moving privately owned rental housing into tenant or nonprofit ownership to prevent speculation and ensure permanent affordability and meaningful resident control.
What We're Reading
In a recent series, Shelterforce takes a look at how community land trusts, limited-equity cooperatives, resident-owned communities, and other forms of community and social ownership have grown and evolved in recent years.
Tenant organizing and direct actions nationwide won critical emergency protections during the pandemic, including eviction and foreclosure moratoria, and has built power toward repurposing vacant properties as social housing.
To prevent speculative buyers from scooping up distressed properties in the wake of the pandemic, California passed legislation to prohibit bulk foreclosure sales and committed $500 million in funding to community organizations statewide to acquire buildings and transition them to community ownership.
A piece in the Boston Review traces how both public and private sector policies have contributed to our housing crisis and perpetuated racial inequities, and makes the case for housing as a social good.
With support from local tenant organizations, the City of Austin, and ROC-USA, a group of manufactured home residents in Austin mobilized and successfully bought their park back from investor owners, converting it into a resident-owned community.
Social housing has a long track record of success in other parts of the world. The American Prospect details Vienna's approach to social housing, and highlights key lessons learned for U.S practitioners.
Resource Libraries
The Community Service Society of New York has several social housing resources, including blog posts Social Housing and How Social is that Housing?, and a recent report that explores policies that can stabilize distressed buildings and grow the social housing sector in the wake of the pandemic.
Visit Social Housing US for a resource library, legislation tracker, and news about social housing.
For additional reading, visit the LISC Institute's library of Affordable Housing resources |