Tag:Housing
Chicago’s Battle for Affordable Housing
As Chicago grapples with a severe affordable housing shortage—an estimated 119,000 units short—the city continues to experiment with policy solutions. More than half of Chicagoans are rent-burdened, meaning they spend over 30% of their income on rent and utilities. In response, city leaders have turned to tax abatements and zoning mandates to increase the supply of affordable housing. Two key programs—the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program (AHSAP) and the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO)—represent different approaches to tackling this crisis. Chicago’s affordable housing crisis requires a multifaceted approach, and while the AHSAP and ARO offer valuable incentives and mandates, neither alone is sufficient to address the city’s deep-rooted affordability and racial equity challenges.
Chicago’s Low-Income Housing Trust Fund at a Crossroads: Leadership, Equity, and an Uncertain Future
On February 11, the Chicago City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate delayed approval of the appointment of eight board members to oversee the city’s low-income housing trust fund. The vote was postponed due to concerns about the lack of Black representation on the board and among the appointees, particularly from the South and West sides. For decades, Chicago has grappled with the challenge of providing affordable housing to its poorest residents. The Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund (“Trust Fund”), established in 1987, has been a crucial force in addressing this need. The Trust Fund was created through a City Council ordinance and supports low-income residents—those earning at or below 50% of the city’s median income—by funding rental subsidies and housing programs.
Will California’s Anti-Price-Gouging Measures be Effective in the Wake of Wildfires?
In response to the January 2025 wildfires that have burned through Los Angeles County (L.A. County), California Governor Gavin Newsom issued numerous executive orders including Executive Order N-9-25, which extended renter protections against price gouging on hotel and motel rates, as well as rental housing prices across the county. Around 12,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed in the fires, leaving behind a worsening shortage of affordable housing for Los Angeles residents. To make matters worse, as the housing supply in L.A. County has suffered, there have been reports of price gouging on rent and housing costs by landlords and property owners. California law protects residents from price gouging following a natural disaster through a 10% cap on price increases. Thus, tenants’ rights advocates have called for strict enforcement against those who impose excessive price increases in violation of this regulation.
Chicago’s One System Initiative: Merging the Homelessness and Forced Migration Response Services
Since August 2022, Chicago has seen a record influx of new arrivals, with nearly 47,000 individuals seeking asylum in Illinois from the southern U.S. border. In response to this surge of new Chicagoans, the city and state launched the One System Initiative, an ambitious effort to integrate the systems serving Chicagoans experiencing homelessness and new arrivals. By aligning resources and streamlining services, the initiative aims to enhance the city’s overall homeless response system. Such integration must also comply with various federal, state, and local regulations concerning eligibility requirements, funding restrictions, and documentation demands.
Will Chicago’s Northwest Side Ordinance Protect Affordable Housing Along “The 606”?
On September 19th, 2024, the Chicago City Council passed the Northwest Side Housing Preservation Ordinance “Northwest Side Ordinance” by a vote of 44-3. The ordinance is designed to fight gentrification and preserve affordable housing in a set area near “The 606” recreation trail that includes parts of the Avondale, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Logan Square and West Town neighborhoods. The DePaul Institute for Housing Studies found that, between 2013 and 2018, communities on the western end of The 606 lost almost 60% of their two to six flat buildings. To address this, Chicago City Council passed two ordinances in 2021 that changed zoning regulations to reduce displacement in both Pilsen and communities near The 606. These regulations proved to be very successful in slowing demolitions and deconversions within the boundaries of the study area and resulted in the permanent Northwest Side ordinance passed by City Council last month.
CFPB Proposed New Rules to Expedite Mortgage Assistance
Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced proposed rule changes to provide additional relief for homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments. The changes aim to amend the 2013 regulations governing mortgage servicing, ensuring that borrowers can more easily access mortgage assistance and therefore reduce the risk of unnecessary foreclosures. This comes at a time when economic uncertainties and evolving market conditions make it critical for homeowners to have quick access to resources to avoid foreclosures. The new proposal, if finalized, is designed to simplify the process for borrowers seeking mortgage assistance, improve communication between borrowers and servicers, and add safeguards to protect homeowners.
Can Cutting Red Tape Improve Chicago’s Affordable Housing Crisis?
On April 5th, 2024, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson published the Cut the Tape Report as part of his administration’s focus on confronting Chicago’s affordable housing shortage. The report marks the completion of the first step in the process put in place by Mayor Johnson’s Executive Order 2023-21. The order aimed to identify inefficiencies and redundancies in the city’s administrative processes to shorten Chicago’s residential and commercial development timelines. The report resulted from collaboration between fourteen city departments, numerous external stakeholders, and six peer cities, identifying over 100 recommendations for improvements to the development process.
Streamlining Regulatory Compliance in Chicago’s Real Estate Development
In December 2023, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson took a significant step toward revolutionizing the city’s real estate development process by signing Executive Order No. 2023-21. This directive tasked 14 city departments with identifying the key barriers that complicate housing and commercial development that subsequently lead to delays, increased costs, and uncertainty. The goal was to find solutions to accelerate the approval processes, reduce regulatory redundancies, and streamline compliance with city, state, and federal regulations, ultimately making Chicago’s real estate development process more efficient and predictable.
Affordable Housing: No Oversight, No Progress
Originally passed in 2003, the Illinois Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act (AHPAA) requires cities with populations of at least 1,000 residents and less than ten percent affordable housing to submit their affordable housing plans to the state. Gail Schechter sits on the Illinois Housing Appeals Board, but she has never heard a case. The board was brought together in 2009 and fully appointed by Governor Pat Quinn in 2012 to provide checks and balances while Illinois communities create affordable housing. Affordable housing developers who believe they have been treated unfairly or rejected by a municipality are given a chance to appeal a city’s decision to reject their project. However, developers are not utilizing the appeals process. According to Schechter via WBEZ, “a developer just wants to do business. If they can’t build what they want to build, they’ll go to another community.”
Let’s Build Better Sooner Rather Than Later
“A building is only built once.”
So writes Ellen Vaughan, Policy Director at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (“EESI”), and Jim Turner, former Chief Counsel at the EESI. The consequences of new construction can last for the entire life of that building and beyond. Just how and with what materials a building is constructed impacts energy, environment, resilience, and safety as well as cost effectiveness, functionality, accessibility, productivity, and overall sustainability. The how of building is an incredibly important part of the life of residential and commercial builds which can only be affected prior to the start of the entire process.