Housing Law Commons^™

Ensuring That Homeownership Is Sustainable, David Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This short article argues that the Federal Housing Administration has suffered as a result of many of the same unrealistic underwriting assumptions that led to problems for many lenders during the 2000s. It, too, was harmed by a housing market as bad as any since the Great Depression. As a result, the federal government announced in 2013 that the FHA would require the first bailout in the agency’s history. While facing financial challenges, the FHA has also come under attack for the poor execution of policies designed to expand homeownership opportunities.

Leading commentators have called for the federal government to …

From The Great Depression To The Great Recession: On The Failure Of Regulation In The Mortgage Market, Dov Solomon

Journal of Legislation

People tend to attribute the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis to deregulation. This article challenges this view and presents a unique perspective of the crisis as in fact rooted in the way the residential mortgage market is regulated. Focusing on non-recourse mortgage legislation, which is a unique feature of the US mortgage market dating back to the period following the Great Depression, the article analyzes the contribution of this legislation to the onset of the Great Recession. The discussion shows how regulation that was enacted in response to a major economic crisis not only failed to prevent a large-scale …

Banks, Break-Ins, And Bad Actors In Mortgage Foreclosure, Christopher K. Odinet

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Micro-Housing In Seattle: A Case For Community Participation In Novel Land Use Decisions, Patrick Carter

Seattle University Law Review

Rather than relying solely on the formal interpretations of government regulators invited by the structure of local zoning ordinances, the City of Seattle should adopt a process that invites community-based mediation and problem-solving when a significant shift in housing density is contemplated in a developer’s proposal. Greater resident participation in development projects allows the City of Seattle to better support those residents in their reliance interests arising from zoning ordinances while simultaneously furthering the policies that underpin urban zoning. This is especially true when such development projects raise the possibility of substantial impacts on the character of a community or …

Distinguishing Households From Families, Katharine B. Silbaugh

Faculty Scholarship

The study of the relationship between all families, whether marital or non-marital, and households, is underdeveloped, despite extensive study of the mismatch between family law, which is still focused on marriage and parenthood, and family practices. Often, in an effort to update the discourse, discussions of non-marital families seem to deploy households or living arrangements as a substitute classification in the place of the old marital family. This Article argues that we need to resist the tendency to substitute the idea of “household” when the boundaries of legal family fail us, because households are not necessarily familial, and because core …

Prostitution Policy: Legalization, Decriminalization And The Nordic Model, Ane Mathieson, Easton Branam, Anya Noble

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Don’T Risk It; Wait Until She’S Sober, Patrick John White

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Let’S Talk About Sex: A Call For Guardianship Reform In Washington State, Sage Graves

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Living Under The Boot: Militarization And Peaceful Protest, Charlotte Guerra

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Let’S Invest In People, Not Prisons: How Washington State Should Address Its Ex-Offender Unemployment Rate, Sara Taboada

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

His Feminist Facade: The Neoliberal Co-Option Of The Feminist Movement, Anjilee Dodge, Myani Gilbert

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

In Her Words: Recognizing And Preventing Abusive Litigation Against Domestic Violence Survivors, David Ward

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Persistence And Resistance: Women’S Leadership And Ending Gender-Based Violence In Guatemala, Serena Cosgrove, Kristi Lee

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Preventing Shelterization: Alleviating The Struggles Of Homeless Individuals And Families In New York City, Salley Kim

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Yes To Infill, No To Nuisance, Michael Lewyn

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A World Class Solution: How Implementing Class Action Lawsuits In Spain Could Help Remedy The Spanish Housing Crisis, David Flanzer

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that implementing class action lawsuits in Spain could provide a viable solution to address the country's housing crisis, exacerbated by predatory lending practices and high eviction rates. By adopting a U.S.-style opt-out class action system, Spain could enable affected homeowners to challenge unfair mortgage terms collectively, potentially decreasing evictions and deterring future predatory practices.

Putting Exclusionary Zoning In Its Place: Affordable Housing And Geographical Scale, Christopher Serkin, Leslie Wellington

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Whither Workforce Housing?, Matthew J. Parlow

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The last forty years have marked a dynamic era in affordable housing. During this time, affordable housing shifted from being largely government-owned to privately-owned, though certainly supported by government efforts. This evolution thus marked a distinct switch from a supply-side approach to a demand-side approach to affordable housing. As states and localities adapted to this paradigm shift, some high-priced metropolitan regions discovered that their housing markets were squeezing out middle-income service workers, such as police officers and teachers. In response, many localities—and some states—adopted various laws and policies to spur the creation of workforce housing: that is, moderately-priced housing that …

Changes Spark Interest In Sustainable Urban Places: But How Do We Identify And Support Them?, John R. Nolon

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Saving Mount Laurel?, Roderick M. Hills

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

New Challenges For Urban Areas Facing Flood Risks, Debbie M. Chizewer, A Dan Tarlock

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Rebirth Of The Neighborhood, J. Peter Byrne

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Federal Housing Administration (Fha) And Private Mortgage Insurance (Pmi): A Bibliography, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

This is an unannotated bibliography of writings through 2015 primarily about the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), but it also includes materials regarding the private mortgage insurance (PMI) industry. While it is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive, with a focus on work published by government agencies, economists, legal and policy scholars, private sector analysts and think tanks. The bibliography also includes other materials about the housing finance market in the early and mid-20th Century. These broader materials provide some context for the operations of the FHA and PMI.

This bibliography will be posted on Wikipedia so that others can make additions …

Location, Location, Mis-Location: How Local Land Use Restrictions Are Dulling Halfway Housing's Criminal Rehabilitation Potentia, Michael J. Mcgowan

Student Scholarship

Part I of this Article begins with a brief historical explanation of halfway houses as a model of criminal rehabilitation. Part II addresses why recidivism rates provide the most appropriate metric gauging halfway houses' success and how they apparently have failed to improve recidivism rates. Part III then delves into the body of scholarship that explains how an individual's likelihood of landing back behind bars is to some extent demonstrably tied to their location, meaning their surrounding cultural, economic, and criminogenic environment. Part IV discusses the sparse data on the sorts of neighborhoods where halfway houses ultimately end up and …

"No Handicapped People Allowed": The Need For Objective Accessibiity Standards Under The Fair Housing Act, Michael J. Jeter

Washington Law Review

The Fair Housing Act (FHA or the Act) sets forth accessibility requirements that housing developers must meet, but the Act does not contain objective performance standards for satisfying those requirements. This omission creates substantial barriers in housing opportunities for persons with disabilities. For example, the FHA mandates that doors must be wide enough to allow passage of wheelchair users, but it does not provide measurements for door width. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has attempted to use ten model building codes or “safe harbors” from its regulations as minimal objective standards for accessibility. HUD and …

No Better Instrument: The Necessity Of Notice And An Opportunity To Be Heard And The Due Process Deficiencies Of Nuisance Abatement, Elise Bernlohr

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Second Chances For The Second City's Vacant Properties: An Analysis Of Chicago's Policy Approaches To Vacancy, Abandonment, & Blight, Elizabeth Butler

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Addressing the externalities of vacancy and blight is a major challenge for the Chicago metropolitan area. While neighborhoods on the South and West sides of Chicago struggle with blight, neglect, and abandonment, downtown Chicago and the northern neighborhoods and suburbs experience stronger market conditions. This crisis has amplified entrenched socioeconomic divisions and ultimately burdens the entire region by perpetuating a cycle of poverty, violence, and physical and social disorder that tarnish Chicago’s image.

This Note outlines Chicago’s vacant property challenge by discussing the history of urban decline in Chicago. It examines factors that led to a high level of vacant …

Southern Highlands V. San Florentine, 132 Nev. Adv. Op. 3 (Jan. 14, 2016), Kristen Matteoni

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Under the plain language of NRS 116.3116(4), “equal priority” is given to multiple HOA liens on the same property when those liens secure unpaid HOA charges and dues. When one lienholder of equal priority forecloses, all other liens are terminated. Nonetheless, all equal priority lienholders share in the foreclosure profit by either being paid in full when able to do so or, if sale profit is inadequate, through a pro-rata share of the proceeds. Thus, because the Foothills and Southern Highlands have equal priority liens, Foothills’ foreclosure terminated Southern Highlands lien, however Southern Highlands is entitled its allotment of the …

Eviction Court And A Judicial Duty Of Inquiry, Harold Krent, Peter Cheung, Kayla Higgins, Matthew Mcelwee

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Maryland's Medical Marijuana Law: Transactional And Ethical Perspectives For Real Estate Practitioners, Nicole M. Lacoste Folks, Lawrence F. Haislip, Matthew L. Kimball

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

The congruence between Federal and state laws relating to marijuana, 2 which has existed for generations, is unraveling. In recent years a number of states have reduced or eliminated criminal penalties for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana;3 twentythree states have established a state law exception for medical marijuana; 4 and Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon now authorize the retail and personal growth, sale and possession of marijuana as a matter of state law.5 Maryland has lately joined the list of states purporting to create exceptions or safe harbors for those wishing to engage in the manufacture, …