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Research & Policy
Cracking Code Enforcement: How Cities Approach Housing Standards
In a new policy brief, Cracking Code Enforcement: How Cities Approach Housing Standards, Sophie House of the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab explores how code enforcement and compliance are handled in different jurisdictions. Through analysis of 40 different cities of varying sizes and geography, as well as communication with stakeholder groups in local government, research, and affordable housing provision, the brief explores three different dimensions that shape code enforcement: a regime’s relative emphasis on neighborhood quality or individual tenant protections; use of proactive or reactive enforcement mechanisms; and reliance on collaborative or punitive engagement.
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Research & Policy
Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act: An Initial Analysis of Short-Term Trends
The NYU Furman Center analyzed several housing indicators to gain deeper insight into the initial impacts of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA). We examined measures that have been commonly discussed in the public debate on HSTPA, including a comparison of multifamily sale prices, alteration job filings, housing quality complaints, code violations, and eviction filings before and after the passage of HSTPA.
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Research & Policy
Do Lawyers Matter? Early Evidence on Eviction Patterns After the Rollout of Universal Access to Counsel in New York City
In a special issue of Housing Policy Debate on evictions, Ingrid Gould Ellen, Katherine O’Regan, Sophie House, and Ryan Brenner analyze early findings from the NYC Universal Access to Counsel program (UAC). Considering the multitude of difficulties associated with appearing in court without a lawyer, providing low-income tenants with access to free legal services is thought to decrease the likelihood of eviction and possible homelessness.
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Data Updates
Data Driven Insights to Kickstart Local Housing Strategy Planning
Before a policymaker, practitioner, or community leader can start building a housing strategy, it is imperative to understand local housing needs. That is why Local Housing Solutions developed the Housing Needs Assessment in partnership with PolicyMap. The tool compiles and visually displays publicly available national data sources, such as the US Census, American Community Survey (ACS), and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
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Housing Solutions Lab Launch: Housing and Opportunity in Small and Midsize Cities
On June 15, the NYU Furman Center launched the Housing Solutions Lab. The launch event, titled Housing and Opportunity in Small and Midsize Cities, featured a panel about the housing policy opportunities and challenges facing small and midsize cities.
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Research & Policy
Challenges and Opportunities for Hotel-to-Housing Conversions in NYC
In a new white paper, the NYU Furman Center’s Noah Kazis details essential background information on the matter of hotel-to-housing conversions. He highlights the regulatory constraints on conversions, what types of properties would be more feasible to convert, and how new state interventions could impact the effort.
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News & Events
By the Numbers: Renters and Recovery
Each year, the NYU Furman Center publishes The State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods report, a compilation of data and analyses looking at trends in housing development, homeownership, the rental market, and dozens of other indicators illustrating how New York and its neighborhoods changed over the past year. On May 26th, we hosted a virtual event to celebrate the launch of the 20th edition of the report. By the Numbers: Focus on Renters and Recovery, focused on an original dataset showing rent payment rates in a large sample primarily consisting of units in New York City’s affordable housing portfolio. Because most of the units in the sample require means-testing, this data provides a snapshot of the economic health facing low-income renters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Research & Policy
Rent Regulation for the 21st Century
A primary goal of rent regulation is to protect low-income renters from unexpected spikes in their monthly housing costs. As a solution to housing instability, however, rent regulation has several potential drawbacks: it can reduce the overall supply or quality of rental housing; it can create a two-tiered system that leaves tenants in unregulated housing unprotected; and it often benefits higher-income, rather than lower-income households. The policy brief instead recommends pairing broad-based anti-gouging rent regulation paired with targeted subsidies as the best way to stabilize low-income renters while avoiding the drawbacks of strict, broad rent regulation and means testing.
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Research & Policy
Bolstering the Housing Safety Net: The Promise of Automatic Stabilizers
In a new paper published by the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project, Robert Collinson, Ingrid Gould Ellen, and Benjamin J. Keys propose three stabilizers that build on the lessons of the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic to backstop housing before the next crisis hits.
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Rent Payments in a Pandemic: Analysis of Affordable Housing in New York City
One of the most pressing housing policy questions in the wake of COVID-19 is how rent payment rates have changed during the pandemic. In a new report, we analyzed rental payments from over 18,500 primarily below-market rate units from New York City to understand how renters’ payment rates and rental arrears evolved during the health crisis.
