Six Pieces of Good News as Inauguration Looms

Local and State Housing Progress Can Continue During Trump Administration

Photo: Sawant-Rent Control 4 Wikimedia Commons

Next Monday will be a dark day for most people in the U.S., especially people struggling to get or stay safely housed. We have written here and here about the dangers a Trump administration poses for the millions of our sisters and brothers facing homelessness, eviction, and unsafe housing.

But today we celebrate.

Because there has been some recent good news about housing justice, and it seems we could all use a little optimism to carry us through the coming weeks.

Not coincidentally, these are all events that came out of local organizing, advocacy, and policy. The federal government is not likely to be the source of positive housing news for a few years, so we will have to earn our wins in our communities, just like these folks have done:

1. City of Kingston, NY not only stabilized rent increases, it ordered them lowered. Although rent control is usually associated with limiting rent increases, the Kingston Rent Guidelines Board actually ordered a 15% rent reduction. See this detailed article from Shelterforce’s Luca Goldmansour about the local organizing, including getting tenant-supporting members on the rent guidelines board, that led to this big win.

2. Denver Basic Income Project reports increase in housed people, decrease in public spending. After one year of a program that provides no-strings-attached cash payments to unhoused people, the results are in: the funds were used for basic needs like housing and groceries, and led to far less nights unsheltered, increased financial stability, and savings in public spending on ER visits, jail stays, etc. As we and many others have long said: the most impactful solution to people’s poverty is providing them with money. Learn more about the Denver program here.

3. Los Angeles became the 25^th jurisdiction to enact a tenant right to counsel. Effective January 1st, a new Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance will expand legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction. The wonderful National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel has more details on LA’s program and the other communities and states that guarantee a tenant a right to counsel—and also summarizes the overwhelming research that having counsel improves tenant outcomes--here.

4. Rochester tenants protected by new Good Cause Eviction law. Along with limiting annual rent increases to 7.7%, the Rochester NY City Council in December adopted a “good cause” eviction requirement. Tenants are often forced to move just because their lease expires—and often because the landlord wants to remove a tenant who raised concerns about poor conditions. Good cause eviction laws, which only allow tenant displacement for reasons like tenants violating the lease or engaging in illegal activity, protect those tenants, and provide some security and stability that homeowners take for granted. You can learn more about good cause eviction laws here.

5. Dallas housing coalition pushed through $80 million in affordable housing bonds, aiming for more soon. Another terrific Shelterforce article details how the wide coalition of 200-plus organizations came together to win both a City Council vote and then a referendum. It now is focused on making affordable housing a 2025 municipal election issue.

6. Minnesota tenants now protected from landlord retaliation for joining tenant union. A new law that took effect on January 1^st makes it illegal for Minnesota landlords to respond to tenants organizing by increasing rent, filing legal actions, or contacting law enforcement about a tenant’s immigration status. We have written here many times about tenant unions being the key to much-needed housing reform, so all protections for that organizing are important.

Much gratitude to all the organizers and activists who made these victories happen, and gave us a blueprint for how we can still push for improvements during a Trump administration. We are not powerless, and progress can be made even in the most difficult times.