More landlords are refusing Section 8 vouchers for housing, neither willing to deal with the federal bureaucracy nor to risk missing out on the peak windfall of an expansive rental market.
Glenn Thrush reports in detail about the plague of landlords refusing to accept Section 8 vouchers from renters.
The news follows and expands on findings from an August report by the Urban Institute, and commissioned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The report "found that 67 percent of Philadelphia’s landlords refused to even consider voucher holders, some candidly citing the low subsidies and their desire to cash in on a hot market," according to Thrush. "The rejection rates were even higher in Fort Worth and Los Angeles, where three-quarters of landlords turned away Section 8 tenants."
Thrush focuses on the city of Philadelphia as an informative case study of the larger problem. Rasheedah Phillips, managing attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia’s housing unit, is cited in the article describing the state of the Section 8 program in Philadelphia as a crisis.
Read the full story: With Market Hot, Landlords Slam the Door on Section 8 Tenants
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.
Eight Ohio Towns Ban Source of Income Discrimination in Housing
The group doesn’t include Cleveland, where landlords can explicitly exclude housing voucher recipients from rental properties.
HUD Considering Cash Housing Assistance Pilot
Cash housing assistance in lieu of bureaucracy-laden vouchers could make affordable housing more accessible to low-income households.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Atlanta City Council unanimously backs $3.5 billion Beltline light rail project
The resolution was drafted after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pulled support for the Atlanta Streetcar extension last year.
SEPTA to bring nearby frequent transit to over 1 million new riders as part of decade-long plan
The agency's Accelerate plan will also bring frequent transit to twice the amount of jobs that are currently located near it.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello