Pass legislation to protect renters and increase affordable housing stock!

President Biden’s blueprint of protections for renters is a much needed call for increased protection for renters’ rights and investments in affordable housing. But we know there are severe limitations on what the White House can do, which is why we need federal legislation. We’re dealing with a national shortage of 7 million affordable homes for low-income renters. This severe shortage of homes is a structural feature of America’s housing system that builds upon almost a century of discriminatory housing policies and practices that exist to this day. The affordable housing crisis impacts every city, state, and community and without your intervention, the lasting effects on our educational, health care, and economic systems will be catastrophic. As your constituent, I’m calling on you to pass legislation that will bridge the gap between income and rental costs, increase the supply of affordable units, and provide protection against discrimination for tenants who use government or public subsidies to pay rent, and just cause eviction protections, including the right to counsel. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw how rental protections provided a necessary lifeline to families who had just lost income or members of their household due to the virus. People are still getting sick with COVID, inflation is at record highs, and the financial support and expanded tax credits millions received during the pandemic have expired. We’ve bailed out corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Now it’s time for real investments in the American people: affordable, stable housing and protections against greedy landlords. Thanks.

▶ Created on February 7, 2023 by Jess Craven