An editorial outlines ideas for dampening effects of California's Ellis Act, which allows landlords to "go out of business" and evict tenants, possibly in order to sell buildings for condo conversion.
"In a housing crisis, particularly an affordable-housing crisis, there's a pretty simple axiom that ought to guide city policy: Existing housing is valuable. It's way, way cheaper to keep affordable housing from being lost than it is to build new housing to replace it. That's why Sup. Chris Daly's legislation to limit some types of condominium conversions is so important -- and why the supervisors should consider going even further."
"Daly's bill...is aimed at the rash of evictions of low-income tenants whose apartments are turned into condominiums. The way the state's Ellis Act works, any landlord has the right to go out of business -- that is, to stop renting housing units -- and to evict all of his or her tenants. That leaves the building vacant and allows the landlord to sell it to people -- generally better-off people -- who want to buy their units as tenancies in common."
FULL STORY: Stopping the evictions
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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Planning for Universal Design
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