Issue Position: Achieve Homes for All

Issue Position

Housing is a human right. Stable housing is essential to a healthy and secure life. Whether we rent or own our homes, everyone deserves access to a safe and stable place to live. However, the free-market does not meet the needs of working families, while big banks and for-profit developers continue to profit off of working communities. From a history of redlining communities to modern gentrification and displacement, residential segregation patterns exist today with communities of color more likely to live in places with higher poverty rates and lower home values.

The White House's budget for 2019 calls for $8.8 billion in cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) has $127 million in deferred maintenance and building costs, yet only receives $10 million a year from the federal government
In North Minneapolis, almost half of all renters have experienced an eviction filing in the past three years
There are 750,000 Americans who are homeless on any given night
In 2015, only thirty percent of federal housing funding went to support renters, and that number will continue to diminish under the current administration
Vision and Policy Priorities
FULLY FUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Across the country, communities are experiencing low vacancy rates and a shortage of affordable housing. We can not simply trust that for-profit developers will invest housing that is affordable to working people. We need to move towards publicly- and cooperatively-owned models of housing for all income-levels.

Work to fund millions of homes in the coming decade, financed through the disbursement of low-interest loans and capital grants to local municipalities
Fully fund the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and expand funding for Section 8 vouchers
ESTABLISH A NATIONAL RENTERS' BILL OF RIGHTS
We must do more than simply providing more affordable housing. We must address the power imbalance between renters and landlords. We must empower renters to advocate for their own interests, and protect them against unjust actions by their landlord.

I will work to pass a national renters' bill of rights, including:

Just-cause eviction protection,
Right of tenants to organize into a union,
Right to live in safe and healthy conditions,
Relocation assistance for those displaced
Non-discrimination protections for LGBTQIA+, undocumented and formerly incarcerated people to access housing
ESTABLISH NEW REVENUE SOURCES TO FUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Real estate speculation and the focus on development of luxury units has had a devastating effect on housing across the country. Not only do we need dedicated funding sources to fuel affordable housing development. We also need regulations in place to deter and prevent bad behavior from the financial industry, building owners, and developers. The revenue generated from these funds must be dedicated to the development of public and affordable housing, and providing assistance for renters and low-income folks.

Implement a tax on real estate speculation,
Place a fee on the construction of luxury commercial and residential properties, and a tax on buildings that are left intentionally vacant as real-estate investments
SUPPORT HOMEOWNERSHIP IN WORKING CLASS COMMUNITIES
Millions have still not recovered from the foreclosure and eviction crisis created by the Great Recession. We must provide support to working-class homeowners, and help them stay in their homes.

We must support legislation like the Common Sense Housing Investment Act (HR 948) which would:

Fully fund the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to ensure families can safely stay in their homes during Winter
Convert the mortgage interest deduction to a flat fifteen percent tax credit, extending a tax cut to an additional 15 million working and middle-class homeowners

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