Although it’s technically illegal for landlords to deny housing voucher recipients, tenants around the country have been rejected or charged exorbitant fees for using vouchers.
In a story originally published in The City and republished in Next City, Sam Rabiyah describes how a group of tenants in Brooklyn is organizing against landlords who refuse to rent to federal housing voucher recipients, a practice that is ostensibly illegal.
A nonprofit organization, “Unlock NYC is led by a leadership collective, women with backgrounds in law, policy analysis, community organizing and other fields who all use housing vouchers and say they’ve faced discrimination because of it.” The organization collects reports of discrimination and is set to release a “citywide ranking” of landlords and brokers that have had the most complaints against them.
According to Rabiyah, “Unlock NYC built a text message bot that tenants use to document and report voucher discrimination, walking complainants through a series of questions and responses. Staff members then review these reports and submit them as formal complaints to the city Commission on Human Rights, which follows up to warn landlords and brokers of potential violations and can pursue legal action if warranted.”
Read the full story: Tenants Are Teaming Up To Target Voucher-Snubbing Landlords
Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users
A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.
Fair Housing Funding Cuts Open Door to Discrimination, Advocates Say
Federal cuts to grants for fair housing advocacy organizations could lead to ‘widespread’ housing discrimination as enforcement resources are reduced.
Podcast: How the Housing Crisis Impacts People With Criminal Records
People with criminal convictions are 10 times as likely to become homeless as others. Small policy shifts could change that.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority