October 15, 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Justice released a memo clarifying that landlords can begin the eviction process despite the federal moratorium banning evictions through the end of this year. Moreover, the announcement states that landlords are not responsible for telling renters about the protections to which they are entitled. “We need the federal government to step up to provide income supports and rent relief to ensure renters can stay stably housed and landlords can keep paying their bills during and after the pandemic,” states Solomon Greene, senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

Nearly a year after Moms 4 Housing gained national attention for occupying a vacant house in West Oakland, California, the Oakland Community Land Trust bought the property from its former corporate owner. Moms 4 Housing plans to convert the house into transitional housing for mothers experiencing homelessness. The house will also serve as the center of Moms 4 Housing’s partnership with the Alameda Labor Council and the Rising Sun Center for Opportunity, which intends to train unhoused mothers in contracting work and then employ them to renovate other vacant homes to create additional affordable housing.

A new partnership between the City of Los Angeles, wireless internet provider Starry, and Microsoft expands free internet access to Los Angeles public housing residents through the end of the school year. Before this, many public housing residents didn’t have access to internet because of high installation costs, faulty connections (due to public housing properties’ cinderblock construction), and strict application requirements that require proof of income and credit checks. “[Wi-Fi is] an absolute necessity for parents trying to work, students looking to learn, and families and friends seeking to communicate,” stated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

In response to the nation’s affordable housing crisis, the National Affordable Housing Trust, Low Income Investment Fund, and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future are raising $1 billion to make it easier for nonprofit housing organizations to build and buy properties. The joint initiative also seeks to preserve federally funded projects whose subsidy arrangements are expiring. Ultimately, it plans to use its capital to promote racial equity by better understanding community needs and supporting local developers of color.