Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed several bills intended to do more to address the rights of renters in the Commonwealth.

Along with protecting tenants from negligent landlords, the legislation would have given local governments more power to hold slumlords accountable for the living conditions of their properties.

Housing rights advocates are disappointed, and they noted since pandemic protections against evictions have ended, they are already rising again.

Christie Marra, director of housing advocacy at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said it is no secret what would have kept them from rising higher.

"Let's give people who are only a month behind on rent a chance to catch up before they can be sued," Marra urged. "Let's give people an extra nine days at the beginning of the process so they can get another paycheck and pay their rent and late fees before they're taken to court."

The governor's reasons for vetoing the bills range from not including amendments he felt would bolster the legislation, to creating an "unbalanced legal environment." He also felt some of the protections are unnecessary.

Marra countered providing funds for more affordable housing and other options will be needed to ensure housing stability in Virginia.

Some housing legislation was successful this year, including a bill expunging eviction cases which have been resolved from a person's record. It goes into effect July 1.

Marra emphasized it should help people avoid being tripped up by third-party tenant screening companies when applying for housing. She pointed out just filing an eviction can have negative effects.

"Then you've got situations where people have a defense but they know if they go to court, they can't go to work, they're going to lose their job," Marra observed. "We still have a pretty high default rate in these cases. People are being forced to choose, 'Do I miss my court date and just hope for the best? Or do I go to court and hope I don't get fired?'"

She added eviction cases in the state can take two to four months to resolve. Marra is confident the failed bills this year will return in future legislative sessions.

A group formed to fight for the rights of Bozeman's lower-income renters is pushing for mandatory legal assistance for people facing eviction. Opponents say it's unfair to landlords.

Bozeman Tenants United calls itself a multiracial, intergovernmental movement to win safe, dignified and affordable housing for working-class renters.

Benjamin Finegan, director of the group, said rising rents and less availability are proving to be "death by a thousand cuts" for renters, who he pointed out are forced to spend as much as half of their income on housing, if they can afford it at all. He called evictions "acts of violence," and claimed they are at the heart of Bozeman's housing crisis.

"Where an eviction, in a lot of ways, is a death sentence," Finegan argued. "It means that you are out on the street with nowhere to go, possibly with kids. It means that you have a red stamp on your rental record, and it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find new housing."

Finegan is working to get financial support from Bozeman to pay for legal representation for low-income households facing eviction. The state landlord's association is among the groups pushing back on the idea, saying rent prices are simply driven by market conditions and supply and demand.

Finegan noted Bozeman would join more than a dozen other towns and cities around the country that have instituted some form of legal assistance for people facing eviction. In Bozeman, Finegan said at least two-thirds of residents are low-income renters and as the number continues to grow, his group will push for the funding to pay for legal help.

"Fighting for approximately $670,000 per year in order to actually fund enough attorneys to give people full legal representation through eviction court filings, as well as illegal, dangerous living conditions," Finegan outlined.

Finegan added mandatory, city-funded legal representation for low-income people has sharply reduced the eviction rate in other places across the country that have adopted it, including a dramatic drop in evictions in Kansas City.


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By Marilyn Odendahl for The Indiana Citizen.
Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Indiana News Service reporting for the Indiana Citizen-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

A letter signed by nearly 500 Hoosier organizations and individuals was presented to Gov. Eric Holcomb on Monday as part of a continued effort to persuade him to establish a statewide housing commission to tackle Indiana's "extreme housing crisis."

The 485 signees to the letter, which include housing providers, developers, community service organizations, faith-based groups and individual Hoosiers, are asking the governor to issue an executive order creating a Commission on Housing Safety, Stability and Affordability. They see a commission as improving coordination among government agencies and assorted stakeholders to help address the state's housing shortage and a shortfall in enforcing health and safety standards.

"Our state is in the midst of an extreme housing crisis," Amy Nelson, executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana and a signee to the letter, said in an email. "This is not new to housing consumers, whether renters or wannabe homeowners, who have been struggling to keep roofs over their heads or build generational wealth through homeownership. There is a dire lack of affordable housing options in both our home sales and rental markets. We need a Commission that can thoroughly address these issues impacting so many Hoosiers."

The idea for the commission was born from the failure to pass meaningful housing legislation during the 2024 session of the Indiana General Assembly and in previous legislative sessions. Despite 10 bills related to housing needs being introduced into the legislature in January and the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus focusing its agenda on housing concerns, the issue did not gain any traction.

The signees see a commission as overcoming the frustration in the Statehouse in two ways. First, they explained in the letter, a commission could find avenues through administrative and court rules to expand the housing supply without the need for legislation. Second, a commission could speak in a united voice to Indiana lawmakers and recommend new state statutes.

In the letter, the signees highlight Indiana's ongoing housing problems. The state currently has only 34 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely impoverished Hoosier households, the second-lowest rate in the Midwest, and 76% of those households spend more than half their income on housing expenses, the single-highest rate in the Midwest, according to data cited in the letter.

Moreover, housing instability is threatening many Hoosier families. The signees said more than 72,000 Hoosiers households had an eviction notice filed against them in the past year, and an estimated 86,000 households - which includes 98,000 children - remain at risk for eviction.

In March, Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition released their report - "The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes" - which detailed the depth of Indiana's housing problem. The Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition, at that time, encouraged housing advocates to sign the letter asking for the commission.

"Contrary to the common claim that Indiana is an affordable place to live, the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition believes that the findings of this report confirmed what our members have witnessed on the ground throughout the state - that Indiana is failing to supply safe, healthy and affordable places for the most vulnerable Hoosiers to live," Andrew Bradley, policy director for Prosperity Indiana, said at the March news conference.

Those who signed the letter to the governor see a housing commission as functioning like the Indiana Commission on Improving the Status of Children, established in 2013, which has brought numerous stakeholders together to address the problem of abused and neglected youth. Similarly, the signees said, a housing commission could get administrative agencies, courts, local governments, legislators and advocates to work together to find solutions, rather than working in silos.

"Safe and stable housing is fundamental to the physical and mental health of all Hoosiers," the letter states, "to the education and development of children, to the employability of adults, and to a thriving state economy."


Marilyn Odendahl wrote this article for The Indiana Citizen.

Michigan has 1.1 million renter households. According to the 2024 Michigan Statewide Housing Needs Assessment, more than half struggle to pay rent.

For those making $25,000 a year or less, there's a shortage of nearly 125,000 affordable housing units. This shortage forces low-income renters into more expensive properties, creating financial hardship.

David Allen - manager of the Office of Market Research for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority - co-authored the assessment, in partnership with researchers at the University of Michigan.

He said he believes there are a few reasons for the crisis.

"If you take a look at various markets around the state, there's been a lot more rent growth than there had been previous to this," said Allen. "Higher demand is certainly one of them. Another factor that you might want to take a look at, too, is the amount of new product that is being brought to the market, I think especially in the rental side of things."

Allen said there are multiple remedies to the housing problem, including making new construction of affordable housing units and other units in the state easier by maybe rethinking some of the zoning laws.

A renter in Ann Arbor, who shared anonymously, said she pays $1,300 per month for a small one-bedroom apartment.

Ann Arbor is one of Michigan's highest housing markets, where the average rent is just under $1,600 a month.

Despite working full-time for a Fortune 500 company, she said she's struggling to make ends meet.

"I've literally gone a couple of months without actually having my groceries fully stocked," she said, "because I'm putting all of my money towards rent."

Allen said he believes another solution to the housing crisis is to make sure that landlords understand government programs designed to help low-income tenants, such as Section 8.

"Make sure that landlords realize that if they do lease to a tenant with these Section 8 vouchers, it's a steady income for them," said Allen, "since the government always pays at least 30% of the rent."

Allen said that over the past few years, with the COVID crisis, the housing development authority has seen a great influx in money that could be used for a variety of facets to help offset Michigan's housing issues.




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