HOUSING RIGHTS
Housing is a human right. This means everyone, regardless of their situation, deserves a safe, warm place to sleep at night. As our nation’s housing crisis worsens, the only humane solution is an approach that leaves nobody in the streets.
1. Public Housing
Build 15 million publicly-owned homes over the next 10 years.
2. Tenant's Rights
Pass a universal Tenants’ Bill of Rights.
3. Rent Control
Pass federal rent control legislation with zero exemptions.
4. Limit Scarcity
Pass a federal rent freeze with a sunset clause tied to national homelessness rates.
5. Ban "Homestay Rentals"
Federally ban “homestay” rentals, which create artificial scarcity in housing markets with proximity to tourism industry and open loopholes in renter protections.
6. Ban Property Taxes
Ban property tax on primary residences, federally, as part of comprehensive progressive tax legislation. Stop funding education with property taxes.
7. Repeal the Faircloth Amendment
Repeal the Faircloth Amendment so HUD can build public housing again.
8. Reinvigorate Federal Housing Programs
Reinvigorate Federal Housing Programs that build publicly-owned housing for families, for the elderly and for the disabled.
9. Defend Fair Housing
Deliberately expand Fair Housing programs and actively repair the generational damage done by housing discrimination and redlining.
10. Penalize Housing Discrimination
Utilize civil asset forfeiture to acquire the properties of individuals found guilty of housing discrimination and utilize the seized properties for public housing.
11. Protect Rental Assistance
We need to provide full funding to all existing project-based rental assistance contracts.
12. Expand Housing Choice Initiative
We must increase funding for the housing choice voucher program to target families who need support the most and provide greater economic stability to the more than 3 million households struggling to remain in safe, secure and affordable housing today.
13. First Time Home-buyers
Support First Time Home-buyers. We should expand the Department of Housing and Urban Development and USDA Rural Development assistance programs for first time home-ownership, particularly through down payment assistance and direct guaranteed loans.
14. Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling
Expand Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling. Study after study shows that people who receive counseling before buying a home are more likely to succeed at home-ownership.
15. Credit Score Reform
Implement Credit Score Reform to repair the damage done to credit scores of millions of families due to foreclosures or other financial hardships from the 2008 housing market crash.
16. Prevent Predatory Lending
Prevent Predatory Lending. We must require that all mortgage costs are clear, risks are visible, and nothing is buried in fine print.
17. Protect Homeowner Mortgage Interest Benefits
Protect Homeowner Mortgage Interest Benefits. We need to expand homeowner mortgage interest benefits to the 19 million otherwise eligible homeowners who do not itemize their taxes. We must also close the “second home & yacht loophole”, a cartoonish tax giveaway to the rich.
18. Reinvigorate HARP
Reinvigorate HARP, which was designed to assist homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments but owe more than their home is worth, by allowing them to refinance their underwater mortgages at lower interest rates. While the average homeowner saves about $2,500 per year, many people who theoretically qualify don't benefit because of various application barriers and inadequate outreach.
19. Expand Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling
Expand Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling. We need to expand National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling programs to help underwater homeowners. The best solution is to keep homeowners in their homes.
19. Housing First!
Nationally adopt Housing First practices. When investing in direct relief for unsheltered persons, all government programs should utilize the Housing First model, which has proven to improve outcomes when compared with mitigation-based approaches to homelessness.
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