Housing Law Commons^™

Barriers To Accessible Housing: Enforcement Issues In “Design And Construction” Cases Under The Fair Housing Act, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (“FHAA”), Congress added “handicap” to the bases of discrimination outlawed by the federal Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and also enacted three special provisions to further insure equal housing opportunity for persons with disabilities. One of these special provisions—§ 3604(f)(3)(C) —mandates that all new multi-family housing be designed and constructed with seven specified accessibility features.

Despite the accessibility requirements of § 3604(f)(3)(C)—and similar requirements in scores of state and local fair housing laws—a great deal of the multi-family housing built since §3604(f)(3)(C) became effective has failed to include the features mandated by this …

Relational Contracts In The Privatization Of Social Welfare: The Case Of Housing, Nestor M. Davidson

Faculty Scholarship

Privatization has become a permanent and increasingly significant fixture on the landscape of contemporary public policy. Federal, state, and local governments now turn to the private sector for everything from collecting neighborhood garbage to assisting in the occupation of Iraq. As Martha Minow recently noted, "a sea change is at work," with "[p]rivate and market-style mechanisms.., increasingly employed to provide what government had taken as duties." Nowhere is this trend more pronounced, and contested, than in the privatization of social welfare. In that arena, privatization's potential to harness the experience, efficiency, and diversity of the private sector sharply clashes with …

Rural Housing And Code Enforcement: Navigating Between Values And Housing Types, Ezra Rosser

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This paper focuses on the relationship between rural housing and building codes. The paper covers the relationship between the existing urban based literature on housing conditions and the rural housing situation as well as a theoretical exploration of different ways of understanding value in housing. Finally, two rural case studies - the Navajo Nation and a small Colorado subdivision - illustrate the challenges of rural housing code enforcement and demonstrate how officials could benefit from the model.

Why People Who Face Losing Their Homes In Legal Proceedings Must Have A Right To Counsel, Andrew Scherer

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Securing A Civil Right To Counsel: The Importance Of Collaborating, Andrew Scherer

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

New Urbanism: Urban Development And Ethnic Integration In Europe And The United States, James A. Kushner

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

For The Rest Of Their Lives: Seniors And The Fair Housing Act, Robert G. Schwemm, Michael Allen

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

America's population is growing older. According to the 2000 census, more than 35 million people in the United States (12% of the total population) are over 65 years old. These figures are expected to grow dramatically in the early decades of the twenty-first century as the "Baby Boom" generation reaches retirement age and as improvements in health care make it possible for more people to live to an advanced age.

Providing housing for this segment of the American population is already a massive industry and one that will certainly grow as the number of, older persons increases. One of the …

Shelter Poverty: The Chronic Crisis Of Housing Affordability, Michael E. Stone

New England Journal of Public Policy

This paper examines housing affordability in the United States over the past three decades using the author’s concept of “shelter poverty.” The major findings are as follows: The number of shelter-poor households has been over 30 million since the early 1990s, an increase of more than 70 percent since 1970. Among families with children, rates of shelter poverty are much higher, and over the past several decades have risen faster, than among households with just one or two persons. Nearly half of all renter households are shelter-poor, victims of low incomes and rising rents; most low-income renters are headed by …

Blighting The Way: Urban Renewal, Economic Development, And The Elusive Definition Of Blight, Colin Gordon

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article examines the way municipalities have used increasingly broad interpretations of "blight" to compete for state tax increment financing (TIFs) for economic development purposes. It traces the definition of blight in the context of state and federal urban redevelopment programs from the nineteenth century through the Progressive Era to the advent of TIF laws in the 1980s and 90s. It goes on to discuss the how the concept of "blight" has shifted from a condition of substandard housing to a condition of "sub-optimal" local economic development, in part due to intense competition among municipalities for TIFs. The article concludes …

The Human Right To Housing: Making The Case In U.S. Advocacy, Maria Foscarinis, Brad Paul, Bruce Porter, Andrew Scherer

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

The Human Right To Housing: Making The Case In U.S. Advocacy, Maria Foscarinis, Brad Paul, Bruce Porter, Andrew Scherer

Articles & Chapters

American anti-poverty advocates are increasingly focusing on expressing homelessness as a violation of fundamental human rights. Conceptualizing homelessness as a human rights violation can help add legal content to advocacy goals, and help build support for the housing resources, policy changes, and improved legal protective measures needed to ensure access to housing.

This article explores the right to housing in domestic and international law, how to evaluate compliance with the right in the United States, and how to employ legal strategies in support of claims to the right. Theauthors review the status of international law in U. S. law and …

Emotional Harm In Housing Discrimination Cases: A New Look At A Lingering Problem, Victor M. Goode, Conrad A. Johnson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article explores relevant social science data and examines how it affects the analysis and understanding of evidence of emotional harm. Part I provides an overview of the current state of emotional harm cases. Part II discusses the issue of bias in the process of reviewing discrimination cases from the perspective of critical race theory and recent social science data. In Part III, this Article examines the cycles of ignorance that have contributed to an under-valuation of emotional harm in housing discrimination litigation. Finally, suggestions are made about how to gather relevant psychological and medical information on the effects of …

Emotional Harm In Housing Discrimination Cases: A New Look At A Lingering Problem, Victor M. Goode, Conrad A. Johnson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article explores relevant social science data and examines how it affects the analysis and understanding of evidence of emotional harm. Part I provides an overview of the current state of emotional harm cases. Part II discusses the issue of bias in the process of reviewing discrimination cases from the perspective of critical race theory and recent social science data. In Part III, this Article examines the cycles of ignorance that have contributed to an under-valuation of emotional harm in housing discrimination litigation. Finally, suggestions are made about how to gather relevant psychological and medical information on the effects of …

Across The Borders: Immigrant Status And Identity In Law And Latcrit Theory, Ruben J. Garcia

Scholarly Works

Immigrants make up a large and increasing portion of the American community. The recent census found an unprecedented number of immigrants within the United States. Immigrants, however, have fewer legal protections than almost any other individuals within our borders. This lack of protection is especially disconcerting given that immigrants are often the most subordinated members of our communities. Particularly after the events of September 11, 2001, the rights and protections available to immigrants—whether they are documented or not—are tenuous. As LatCrit scholars have pointed out, immigration law is intensely racialized, and yet other bodies of law, such as civil rights …

New Look At Sexual Harassment Under The Fair Housing Act: The Forgotten Role Of 3604, Rigel C. Oliveri, Robert G. Schwemm

Faculty Publications

This Article argues that § 3604(c) is applicable in virtually every sexual harassment case involving housing and that its applicability means the FHA can be a more effective statute for attacking sexual harassment than Title VII. Part I reviews the law governing sexual harassment in housing, including the role that Title VII precedents have had in shaping this law. Part II shows how § 3604(c) goes further than its Title VII counterpart in prohibiting statements that are often at the heart of a sexual harassment claim and identifies some specific situations in which § 3604(c) may be helpful in challenging …

A New Look At Sexual Harassment Under The Fair Housing Act: The Forgotten Role Of §3604(C), Robert G. Schwemm, Rigel C. Oliveri

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Sexual harassment in housing is a significant national problem. Although less visible than the comparable problem in employment, sexual harassment in housing may be as prevalent and probably more devastating to its victims.

Nevertheless, relatively little attention has been paid to this issue or to the law that should govern it. Indeed, the law of sexual harassment in housing developed well after and in virtual lock-step with the law of sexual harassment in employment. Thus, courts have simply interpreted the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to prohibit sexual harassment to the same degree—and only to the same degree—as it is prohibited …

Discriminatory Housing Statements And §3604(C): A New Look At The Fair Housing Act’S Most Intriguing Provision, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Today, more than three decades after the 1968 Fair Housing Act ("FHA") banned such behavior, blatant discrimination—often accompanied by racist slurs and other explicitly discriminatory statements—continues to plague America's housing markets. The FHA not only outlawed discrimination in most housing transactions on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin, but also contained a specific prohibition, § 3604(c), banning all discriminatory housing statements. Unlike the FHA's more traditional prohibitions against discriminatory refusals to deal and discriminatory terms and conditions, § 3604(c)'s ban on discriminatory statements has not been the subject of much litigation or debate.

Part I of the …

Discriminatory Housing Statements And Section 3604(C): A New Look At The Fair Housing Act's Most Intriguing Provision, Robert G. Schwemm

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article gives a new look at section 3604(c) of the Fair Housing Act. Through section 3604(c), the FHA has outlawed biased statements with respect to an even broader range of housing sales and rentals. The three main purposes of section 3604 directly bear on the FHA's ultimate goals of eliminating housing discrimination and achieving residential integration. Under the FHA, discriminatory statements are not only probative of a defendant's illegal intent, but also, by themselves, violate the statute if made "with respect to eh sale or rental of a dwelling." Further, the lack of aggressive enforcement of section 3604(c) cannot …

Mandates Unsatisfied: The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program And The Civil Rights Laws, Florence Wagman Roisman

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

Single-Parent Latinas On The Margin: Seeking A Room With A View, Meals, And Built-In Community, Laura M. Padilla

Faculty Scholarship

This article considers the unique challenges of single parent Latinas and and a different way of viewing concerns of single parents. This alternative paradigm uses a holistic approach to the problems I had been pondering, acknowledging their interconnectedness, rather than artificially segmenting them into disjointed issues. I visualized a multi-pronged approach to Latina mothers' many concerns, based on a cohousing model, as modified for the needs of a low-income, racially distinct population of single-parent Latinas. It describes co-housing and proposes that this housing model be more broadly accessible through land use changes and greater acceptance of housing beyond single family …

The Tragedy Of The Anticommons: Property In The Transition From Marx To Markets, Michael A. Heller

Articles

Why are many storefronts in Moscow empty, while street kiosks in front are full of goods? In this Article, Professor Heller develops a theory of anticommons property to help explain the puzzle of empty storefronts and full kiosks. Anticommons property can be understood as the mirror image of commons property. By definition, in a commons, multiple owners are each endowed with the privilege to use a given resource, and no one has the right to exclude another When too many owners hold such privileges of use, the resource is prone to overuse - a tragedy of the commons. Depleted fisheries …

Moving From Colonias To Comunidades: A Proposal For New Mexico To Revisit The Installment Land Contract Debate, Elizabeth M. Provencio

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Communities of Mexican Americans in the Southwest, known as colonias, have provided many low-income buyers with affordable opportunities. Affordability, however, comes at a high price for the colonias residents. Most of the buyers live in colonias pursuant to installment land contracts, devices which allow buyers to spread the purchase price of property over a number of years but leave them without legal title or equity under New Mexico law. The buyers sacrifice their legal rights to "own" small, unimproved lots of land in developments that are often without electricity, gas, a sewage system, and indoor plumbing. The author argues …

The Challenge Of Providing Adequate Housing For The Elderly . . . Along With Everyone, Alan C. Weinstein

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Our patterns of land use and development have failed to accommodate the changed housing needs of an aging population. Primary among these needs is the desire of the elderly to be able to "age in place." To meet this need, America's suburban communities in particular will need to re-think their reliance on exclusive single-family zoning and begin planning and zoning for an increasingly large number of the elderly. Despite understandable concerns about maintaining housing values, this may well prove to be politically achievable simply because the very demographic changes that create the need will create a growing constituency in favor …

Essay: The Challenge Of Providing Adequate Housing For The Elderly...Along With Everyone Else, Alan C. Weinstein

Journal of Law and Health

Finally, it seems fittingly ironic that a culture as youth-obsessed as ours faces a demographic future in which those over sixty-five will outnumber those under fourteen for the first time in our history. Irony aside, we are ill-prepared to deal with this new reality on several counts, not the least of which is the failure of our patterns of land use and development to accommodate the changed housing needs of an aging population. Primary among these needs is the stated desire of the elderly to be able to "age in place." To meet this need, America's suburban communities in particular …

Housing Hurdles: Experiences Of The Oneida Indian Nation, Keller George

St. Thomas Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is There Life After Abandonment--The Key Role Of New York City's In Rem Housing In Establishing An Entitlement To Decent, Affordable Housing, Andrew Scherer

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

The Public Housing Tenancy: Variation On The Common Law That Give Security Of Tenure And Control, Shelby D. Green

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores the character of the public housing tenancy, comparing it with the common law tenancy under private lease law and evaluating the degree to which private lease law will protect the interests of low-income families if current proposals to abolish existing in-kind housing programs are adopted. Part II of this Article traces the history of federally funded housing programs and describes the various strategies employed. Part III discusses the recent changes in modern private lease law and recounts the basic rights and obligations of the landlord and tenant, which define and govern the rights of low-income families under …

Affordable Housing: Update On Federal And State Activities, Patricia E. Salkin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Fair Housing Act, Zoning, And Affordable Housing, Patricia E. Salkin, John M. Armentano

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Hud And Housing In The 1990s: Crises In Affordability And Accountability, Michael Allan Wolf

Law Faculty Publications

America is increasingly becoming a nation of housing haves and have-nots. While the majority of American homeowners are well housed and have significant equity in their homes, the prosperity of these homeowners does not reflect the plight of the nation's growing number of low- and moderate-income households.

[D]uring the tenure of Secretary Pierce HUD was an agency in total disarray and was woefully mismanaged. Housing programs established to benefit the poor were abused. During much of the 1980's, HUD was enveloped by influence peddling, favoritism, abuse, greed, fraud, embezzlement and theft. In many housing problems objective criteria gave way to …