News Roundup

  • Student Loan Forgiveness Could Help First-Time Homebuyers Reduce Homeownership Barriers
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    The Biden administration’s student loan relief plan could help increase homeownership for borrowers previously burdened with debt. Canceling debt for about 20 million people could add an estimated 2.5 million first-time buyers to the housing market. Jung Hyun Choi, a housing finance expert at the Urban Institute, says these measures could help reduce a prospective buyer’s debt-to-income ratio and improve a buyer’s ability to save for a down payment.

  • Denver Approves $2 Million for Universal Basic Income Project to Address Homelessness
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    Denver’s city council approved the city’s participation in the Denver Basic Income Project and will spend $2 million of federal pandemic relief funds to provide 140 people and households experiencing homelessness $12,000 over 12 months. The program and the University of Denver’s Center on Housing and Homeless Research will assess how the payments affect housing stability, employment, psychological health, and more. “We believe we can provide a small amount of basic income that can help people leave that experience of homelessness quickly and cost-effectively,” said Jennifer Biess, director of data, policy, and strategy for the city’s Department of Housing Stability.

  • Nearly a Quarter of Californian Homes Lacked Air Conditioning during Latest Heatwave
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    The extreme heatwaves in California threaten the health and safety of the 24 percent of households across the state that lack AC. Though California has standards for heating housing in cold weather, it has none for cooling as temperatures rise. “There’s got to be tighter laws and regulations on air conditioning especially because of the heat and our changing climate,” said Robert Brooke-Munoz, director of San Joaquin Fair Housing.

  • HUD Allocates $54.5 Million to Address Rural Homelessness
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    The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a $54.5 million in grants for groups serving unhoused people in rural areas. “A county that’s mostly rural might get a little bit of federal homelessness money, but it’s not enough to really run a program or people’s salaries,” said Steve Berg, vice president for programs and policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. These grants could begin to address rural providers’ capacity and infrastructure concerns.