How Cleveland levels the playing field for tenants facing eviction

An affordable housing development in Mount Laurel, N.J., holds promise for integration by placing the development in an upscale suburban area. Since 140 affordable units were built in 2000, there has been no effect on crime rates, property values, or taxes, in reference to nearby suburbs.

While Seattle’s City Council has taken steps to protect renters from rising costs and exploitative landlords, many tenants do not understand their rights. In order to address this disconnect, advocacy groups have organized “tenant rights boot camps” to educate renters about their rights and avenues of recourse under the law.

These tiny Scottish communities are taking control of their own The inhabitants of Eigg island in Scotland, raised $1.97 million dollars to buy the island they live on. Prior to that, the island had been privately owned by an absentee landlord and had fallen into demise. A pattern seen across Scotland which has the “highest concentration of private land ownership in the developed world.” However, “more than 560,000 acres of Scotland now rest in community ownership, with the government aiming to increase that figure to 1 million acres by 2020.”

Several large philanthropic organizations, like the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Ford Foundation, are pooling resources to address San Francisco's severe housing crisis. The funds will go to local non-profits who are buying up property to stabilize rent and to localities to establish rent-control and tenant protection policies. Known as Partnership for the Bay’s Future, the venture hopes to eventually ensure housing for 175,000 families over five years.

California coastal towns address homelessness by supporting individuals who live on their boats - and those who want to move back to land. While many counties destroy or condemn boats that have been anchored long-term, areas like Half Moon Bay and Marin county work with individuals who want to find stable housing.

Right to Counsel laws ensure legal representation for tenants facing eviction in Ohio and New York. Results from various cities show that free legal aid results in lower eviction rates. Eviction rates in North Carolina are on the rise and advocates say the state needs to implement Right to Counsel laws.

Old and neglected housing contributes to climate change because it runs on fossil fuels. In New York, outdated heating systems waste two-thirds of energy. The New York City Housing Authority is not only trying to create better, safer, more livable affordable housing, but also cleaner and more sustainable housing. While the city is just beginning to explore how to do that, other cities, like Paris, have already begun the work of updating old buildings that are used for affordable housing and can offer a model for American cities.

After their landlord refused to make repairs and hiked rent, tenants in Oakland, California, staged the longest rent strike in the city’s history to decommodify their housing and begin transitioning to a tenant-controlled building.

Housing activists have been living in an abandoned building — Prestes Maia — since 2002. Through their years of activism, occupying the space and working to make the 22-story high-rise livable Prestes Maia is being transformed into social housing for the families that have been living there for the past several years.

The Community Receiver Program works with real estate professionals of color to rehabilitate vacant and foreclosed properties. These properties are then resold to local homebuyers — to preserve generational wealth — or rented out at affordable rates. The program trains people to be community receivers for free, teaching them how to acquire and rehabilitate the buildings, as well as how to leverage grants and local funding programs. Since 2020, the Program has trained about 520 people, rehabilitated 16 buildings and contributed about $4.5 million in restored property value.