HOUSING Strategies
Legal Aid
Workshops
SOLD
Resident
Community Specialist Renter Information
Existing Tenant to Remain
1. Know where to get help Community organizing & outreach is an on the ground method of reaching out, educating, and informing residents about their rights and where to find resources regarding housing issues. Community organizers connect at-risk tenants to resources such as legal clinics and HCIDLA to help empower residents to act on their own behalf to protect their homes. SCENARIO EXAMPLE: Sal and his family of four have been living in their apartment for about fifteen years. In the past few years, his property owner had been non-responsive to the requests for repairs and Sal’s home is now unsafe for his children. One day, Rosa, a community organizer with a local organization knocked on his door. Rosa specializes in tenants rights and was distributing information on housing services. Sal learned about a free legal clinic where he received support to help ensure his property owner made the necessary repairs to his unit.
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7. HELP Renters BECOME HOMEOWNERS Existing Tenant to Remain
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to community
to community
3. BUY EXISTING HOUSING COMPLEXES
4. FIX UP HOUSING UNITS THAT REQUIRE REPAIR
5. BUY PROPERTY THAT IS OWNED BY THE COMMUNITY
6. BUILD NEW HOUSING NEAR TRANSIT
There are many small to medium sized apartment buildings throughout the community ranging from four (4) to twenty (20) units. These apartment buildings often already have rents that are affordable to low-income and working class residents. These apartment buildings can be purchased, by a community organization or nonprofit housing organization, so that rents stay affordable for low-income and working class residents.
In this neighborhood, 48% of housing was built before 1939. Many of these units require repairs in order to be safe, healthy, and livable for tenants. Supporting local property owners committed to providing affordable rental rates with loan and grant programs could reduce the number of student housing conversions and increase the quality of housing conditions for existing tenants.
This is a strategy where a community organization acquires land that is abandoned or underused to be repurposed into land where housing and other community uses can be created. In order to meet the current needs of housing, larger housing complexes can be built on these lands.
To make the most use of the land and provide housing to benefit more residents, a higher amount of apartment units should be built on the land within walking distance to transit stations or bus stops. These projects should be high-density and should target areas that are within a half mile radius of high-quality public transportation, including both bus rapid transit and light rail stations, known as transit-oriented-development (TOD). TOD will help minimize traffic congestion in the community and also reduce transportation costs for low income residents.
SCENARIO EXAMPLE: A local community organization found an 8-unit apartment building on sale. The complex housed low-income and working families, many of whom have been living there for over 10 years. The community organization combined many funding sources, including funds from the $10 million, to purchase the apartment building. As a result, the majority of the existing residents were able to stay as tenants as long as they qualified based on household income.
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SOLD
SOLD
SCENARIO EXAMPLE: Gloria has owned a four-unit apartment building for over 20 years. The rents from her tenants helped her retire. Many of the units are aging and in need of repairs, but the costs of the repairs are very high. She is constantly being offered money by developers looking to purchase the building for student housing. With a new loan fund from the city, she is provided funds to fix-up her units. In exchange, she commits to continue renting out her units to working class and low income families.
SCENARIO EXAMPLE: Gaby hears that the abandoned property next door is for sale. She reaches out to a local community organization about this opportunity. The local organization takes out a loan from the City and they purchase the land. This prevents the land from being purchased by private developers and keeps the land for the community because the local organization’s mission is to support the community. The next step is to figure out how to access money to construct new housing on the site!
Many renters aspire to own a home some day. Currently, homeownership is out of reach for many residents because the average price of a home can be $500,000 or more. Most residents in this community do not earn a sufficient income to qualify for a mortgage from a bank to purchase a home. One way of supporting current residents is to have affordable houses for sale to qualified low and moderate income borrowers. Another way is for low income people to secure down payment assistance (also known as a soft second mortgage) to help offset the cost of a home purchase. SCENARIO EXAMPLE: Raul has been in a renter in the community for over 30 years. He is fortunate to have a steady job, but even with his $50,000 yearly income - it is not possible for him to qualify for a large enough mortgage to buy a home in his neighborhood. Recently, with funding support from the City, a local housing developer was able to purchase land and develop 10 units available for sale. Because of this funding support, Raul was able to afford the cost of a home in his community.
SCENARIO EXAMPLE: The abandoned property that a housing developer has just purchased is two acres and within half a mile to both the Expo Line and Vermont Blvd. (which has many transit options). The developer has secured enough funding sources to build a project with over 50 housing units (the majority of which will be affordable) along with community space and neighborhood-serving retail. They secure a loan from the City that helps them close their funding gap.
Tenant
Homeowner
2. HELP WITH A DIFFICULT RENTER or LANDLORD Housing specialists can also assist by explaining the complex rules associated with being a renter and landlord. These specialists can directly support renters on how to address housing violations caused by the landlord, such as illegal rent increases or evictions. The same applies to landlords dealing with difficult tenants. Sometimes, the housing specialist can work directly with HCIDLA staff to proactively prevent and respond to Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) and Systematic Code Enforcement Program (SCEP) matters. SCENARIO EXAMPLE: Antonio’s rent kept increasing substantially every year and he worried about not being able to pay his rent. His neighbors directed him to Mario, a housing specialist with a local organization who would be able to help. Mario found out Antonio’s unit was protected by the RSO and his rent could only be increased by 3% each year. Antonio’s rent had been increasing yearly by more than 3%, so Antonio worked with the City to reduce the illegal rent increase.
any additional thoughts on these strategies or others?
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8. HELP HOMEOWNERS STAY IN THEIR HOME A life event or lack of savings can negatively impact a homeowner. For example, a roof replacement can be above $10,000 and many long-time homeowners in the area do not have this type of savings. In addition, a homeowner can become victim to predatory lending if they seek to secure a home equity loan. Resources exist to help current homeowners prevent foreclosures by providing affordable loans and construction support to help with crucial home improvements (like funds for a new roof). This can help current long-time homeowners keep their homes and stay in the neighborhood. SCENARIO EXAMPLE: Maria and her husband have owned their home for more than 25 years and they are very close to paying off their mortgage! Unfortunately, Maria’s husband recently lost his job and their roof caved in. Maria learned from a neighbor that a local community organization provides loans to homeowners in an effort to help long-time resident owners keep their home and pay for critical repairs. Maria has a steady job and was able to secure a loan to fix her roof, as well as help finding a good contractor. Maria and her husband are able to stay in their home.