October 08, 2020

Landlords in North Charleston, South Carolina, are using the state’s evictions courts to collect late rents by suing the same tenants over and over again, found researchers from Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. This common practice, known as serial filing, most often targets middle-income renters and is especially popular in South Carolina, where filing fees are cheap and landlords have easy access to the courts.

The City of Vallejo, California, recently severed ties with the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program after finding out the police-run housing program promotes discrimination against people with criminal records. An investigation revealed the program encourages landlords to reject tenants with minor infractions or accusations, as behavior is not a protected class, and housing advocates say the program is used as a license to turn down any applicant with a criminal record. In the Bay Area, this program fuels the existing housing and homelessness crises, says Louis Chicoine, CEO of the nonprofit Abode Services.

Many cities that face the steepest projected revenue losses because of COVID-19 are some of the best positioned to take in climate migrants in the coming decades. These areas are considered “climate havens” because their geographic location, infrastructure, and available land make them particularly suited to take in migrants. Without federal aid, these cities may have to cut spending on infrastructure and housing to fulfill residents’ immediate needs, raising concerns about their capacity to support future population influxes.  

In Chicago’s South Side neighborhood, hundreds of affordable housing units, many of which are distressed and vacant, were auctioned off on Friday to for-profit investment firms. Some residents would like to see revitalization, but many are wary because the city will not require the firms to preserve the properties as affordable housing. Activists wish the city had considered promoting homeownership among current residents.