The new bill from Senate Democrats would expand organizing and advocacy protections for low-income tenants and is one of a growing number of proposed bills aimed at addressing the national housing shortage ahead of next year's legislative session.
The bill, introduced by Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), would expand the right to form tenant associations to Section 8 voucher recipients and people who live in subsidized units in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) buildings. Currently, tenant association rights are limited to public housing residents.
The Tenants Right to Organize Act includes provisions to protect tenants from retaliation from landlords and establish new enforcement protocols for the Department of Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The bill also includes funding for tenants' right to organize and advocacy efforts.
“This bill is designed to give low-income, Section 8 and LIHTC renters the tools they need to speak up and demand better living conditions,” Fetterman said in a statement introducing the bill, first presented to The Hill.
“Just as labor unions help workers organize to fight for fair treatment, tenants' right to organize laws “This project will empower renters to come together and create positive change in their homes and neighborhoods,” he said.
The bill includes language that would protect activities such as distributing flyers, initiating contact with tenants, conducting door-to-door surveys and holding regular meetings.
The bill is likely to face opposition from developers and the real estate industry, which is unhappy with recent changes to low-income housing regulations, some of which essentially amount to rent caps.
In April, HUD changed how it calculates eligibility for LIHTC status, sparking outrage from commercial housing groups.[picking] They argued that the bill would have the “effect of limiting the ability of LIHTC housing providers to recover costs through rent in a high-cost environment.”
The United States faces a national housing shortage of millions of homes, and some major housing legislation could be introduced in the next Congress, which begins in January.
Various organizations estimate the size of the labor shortage in 2021 to be between 1.5 million and 5.5 million. Joint Centre for Housing Research At Harvard University.
“Most experts agree that this deficit is the root cause of skyrocketing home prices in the country,” researchers Daniel McCue and Sophie Huang wrote in a January analysis for the Joint Center.
Other legislative proposals to address the shortage include the bipartisan Whole House Repair LawZoning-focused, focusing on home renovation and repair Reducing regulatory barriers to housing law.
The latter bill would help “break down permitting silos between government agencies for initiatives related to or affecting housing development,” according to an analysis of the bill by the Niskanen Center, a policy research institute in Washington.
“Housing regulation is characterized by siloed policymaking and unintended consequences when regulations intersect, and it is refreshing to see a bill that seeks to address this issue,” policy analysts Andrew Justus and Alex Armlovich wrote in a commentary on the bill earlier this month.
