Lafayette Square Institute

During my years as a student-attorney at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, my colleagues and I spent a lot of time in Boston Housing Court doing anything we could to keep tenants in their homes. We were the good guys. Landlords were the bad guys.?? ? My view has become more nuanced over the course of my career. A recent article from Shelterforce highlights the tension that can exist when balancing the need for tenant protections with the fiscal realities of managing affordable housing.?? ?? A few highlights:? ? “A recent survey by [Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF)], with data from nine of its member operators representing 100,000 units, showed a $44 million increase in unpaid-rent receivables over a five-year period—a 336 percent increase, […] At the same time, operating costs in their combined portfolio have gone up 36 percent.”? ? ? “[C]oming out of the pandemic, delinquency rates increased across the portfolio industry-wide, and it has been challenging to convince a significant number of residents that they need to pay a portion of their rent consistently.”? ? ? “[H]igher rent arrears often correspond to what the eviction process looks like in a given state or locality, and how long the courts take to process evictions […] So, in places like Washington, D.C., for example, it could be a whole year before an eviction is processed […] That takes a higher rate of rent arrears in that space. We’ve seen that in Michigan as well.”? ? This is similar to what we heard at a convening we organized at Lafayette Square Institute earlier this year. Well intentioned policy can have unintended consequences. Policy influences rent collection rates. Lower rates of rent collection can lead to decreased budgets for day-to-day property maintenance and the delivery of much-needed social services – reducing?the quality of life for all residents. In the long-term these trends can impact the broader housing ecosystem and lead to less affordable homes being preserved and created. ? ? At LSI we are actively developing policies that incentivize private capital to invest in affordable housing and working directly with policymakers who care about these issues. We want to get the balance right. What states and municipalities successfully balance the needs of tenants, operators, and community, and can serve as informative models? What tenant protections should be included in housing policies we’re developing – and which are overly burdensome and/or counterproductive??? ? The FHFA just announced new minimum tenant protections for properties receiving federally backed mortgages. And an NYC pension fund has adopted new tenant protections and standards for its investments. I am looking forward to seeing the impact of these initiatives and the lessons they can provide to the broader industry.? https://lnkd.in/e22cj3Ja?

Lafayette Square is looking for a DC-based team member to support our marketing and communications work (and get to work with LSI). Going to be a memorable time to live in DC and this will offer an interesting perspective for a curious, motivated, and team-oriented person. https://lnkd.in/eJvH8_SE

?? ?? **Thought-provoking research** ?? ?? During my time at Opportunity Insights, our research made clear that "moves to opportunity" had dramatic impacts on kid's long-term outcomes. And we were lucky to have partners in Charlotte at organizations like Foundation For The Carolinas, Leading on Opportunity, and The Gambrell Foundation, who were dedicated to using the research for impact in the community.? ? Now, very interesting research from the UNC Charlotte Belk College of Business shows how some of those moves to opportunity take place in real life – with similarly noteworthy effects.? ? After the Great Recession, more single-family homes in Charlotte were purchased by investors and therefore became available to renters. This trend of large investors increasingly competing in the single-family home market has created concern across the country. Policymakers have even proposed limiting the number of units that can be owned by any single for-profit entity.?? ? BUT the researchers found an interesting silver lining to this trend – lower-income families now had more access to homes in neighborhoods with high quality schools. And these children enjoyed improved educational outcomes due to this increased access.? ? At a recent policy convening we organized at Lafayette Square Institute, we highlighted several operators working on impactful business models focused on single-family homes? -- shared appreciation mortgages that create affordable opportunities for first-time home buyers, acquiring and renovating dilapidated houses to create rental units accessible for moderate-income families, and strategies specifically focused on renting homes in high opportunity neighborhoods to low-income families.?? ? At LSI, our goal is to develop policies that leverage private investment to create economic opportunity for all. We use data to inform this work – and especially to understand the tradeoffs and unintended consequences public policies can have. The vast majority of housing units in more affluent, higher-opportunity areas are single-family homes (as opposed to apartment buildings). Making homes available to renters can have dramatically positive effects for lower- and moderate-income families and children, even though it means those homes are not occupied by owner-occupants who could benefit from the advantages of homeownership.?? ? Ultimately, we need more housing for everyone – renters and owners – in all types of neighborhoods. Our goal at LSl is to channel private capital more effectively to make this a reality. Have you seen policies that balance promoting home ownership while encouraging access for lower-income renters? What innovative models in the single-family housing space are you aware of that could benefit from increased access to capital?

I am thrilled to announce that I am joining Lafayette Square Institute as a Data Analytics and Policy Associate! Lafayette Square is an impact investment platform working locally to create an inclusive American economy. Lafayette Square Institute is its affiliated non-profit, a is a public policy platform that equips policymakers and investors to design capital markets that advance the interests of workers and communities. Together with Antony Bugg-Levine, Joshua Spolsdoff, Jack Moriarty, David Adetokunbo Williams, and Katie Deal I will be working to promote employee ownership and affordable housing, thereby contributing to economic empowerment through asset building. My role will focus on developing place-based analytical tools that provide data-driven insights. I am beyond excited to work on the intersection of data analytics and policy, tackling a topic most dear to me: How can we enable systemic change in our economy that provides everyone with the opportunity to thrive? In light of our world's injustices, I knew early on that I wanted to dedicate my professional life to finding answers to this question. Throughout my career and education, I have explored ways to scale equitable wealth generation and am truly grateful I now get to work at a place that works towards this goal. https://lnkd.in/ePYSVFna

How can we transform our housing system into a foundation for economic empowerment and opportunity instead of a source of financial precarity and instability? ?? ?? ?? ? Earlier this year, the Lafayette Square Institute brought together a select group of housing leaders – operators, investors, funders and policy thinkers – to discuss that question and to explore how we can use innovative financing strategies and public policies to scale socially impactful models. ? 5 takeaways from the discussion: ? 1?? The housing system in the US inadequately serves Americans across the income spectrum and contributes to wealth inequality. The median homeowner has 40 times the household wealth of a renter—nearly $255,000 for homeowners compared to $6,720 for renters. ? 2?? Policies must balance a desire for affordability and social impact with proper incentives for investors, operators, and developers. Otherwise they risk exacerbating our housing deficit. ? 3?? Innovators in the field are proving that impactful local housing models can close the wealth gap and create long-term economic opportunity for residents. But significant support is needed to scale these approaches nationally. ? 4?? Federal housing policy needs more tools in its belt. The US needs more flexible policy vehicles to direct investment capital towards the construction of safe, affordable, sustainable homes. ? 5?? Through a unified coalition, we can solve this crisis. Billions of dollars in capital can be unlocked by developing policies focused on creating measurable social impact while properly incentivizing private investment. ? Informed by discussions like these, my colleagues and I at LSI are developing housing policies focused on encouraging investment in operators and strategies that can create prosperity and opportunity: affordable rental housing, homeownership programs, and models that create equity and wealth-building opportunities for residents and communities. ? What are the development and housing models that you are most excited about that, if scaled, could help solve the housing crisis? What policies have you seen that have effectively attracted private investment capital to affordable housing projects? Who else should we be talking with? #affordablehousing #housingpolicy #economicopportunity #economicmobility #wealthbuilding #ownership