Housing Justice League’s policy aims for Atlanta
Housing Justice League has unveiled a raft of policy proposals to bolster the city of Atlanta’s efforts to expand affordable housing — ranging from pragmatic fixes to pie-in-the-sky ambitions.
The advocacy group’s “Housing First” platform for 2025 urges the city to define affordability based on local income metrics — not higher regional figures.
Atlanta defines area median income (AMI) — the basis for its housing affordability policies — using the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) regional figures for the 24-county greater metro Atlanta area. But for a family of four, HUD’s regional AMI was $96,000 in 2023 — far higher than the Atlanta median household income of $81,938.
This higher regional benchmark makes housing seem “affordable” on paper, while actually pricing out many Atlantans, say the housing advocates.
Instead, Housing Justice League calls for the city to use local — or maybe even neighborhood-level — income data to calculate housing affordability. The city could also tie affordability to local minimum wage levels, to better reflect what Atlantans actually earn.
Click here to read Atlanta Civic Circle’s full breakdown of the nine-point policy platform.
Sen. Ossoff wants to audit HUD inspections
US Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) wants a federal watchdog to scrutinize living conditions in Section 8 apartment complexes — and the agency that oversees them.
Ossoff has proposed that HUD’s Office of the Inspector General investigate HUD-subsidized properties with “close-to-failing” inspection scores — defined as properties that HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) has scored between 60 and 70 out of 100. A REAC score below 60 is a failing score.
The measure won bipartisan support from the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee last month and awaits a full Senate vote as part of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill.
Atlanta housing advocates say an audit of HUD’s inspection practices for its Section 8 properties is long overdue, because the agency often fails to spot cases where tenants are living with mold, pests, and broken utilities. What’s more, the Trump administration’s recent downsizing of HUD’s workforce has exacerbated the problem.
But Ossoff’s proposal faces an uphill battle in a Republican-controlled Congress that’s largely loyal to the Trump administration — and renewed scrutiny of Section 8 properties with REAC scores between 60 and 70 could still miss problematic properties. Atlanta’s Woodland Heights apartments, for instance, a dangerously dilapidated Section 8 complex on the Westside, received REAC inspection scores of 96 and an 81 from HUD last year.
HEARD ON HOUSING
Coming up: Atlanta City Council District 2 candidate forum
Urbanist advocacy group Abundant Housing Atlanta is hosting a candidate forum for the city council’s District 2 hopefuls. ACC housing reporter Sean Keenan will moderate the discussion.
Click here to RSVP for the event, which takes place on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (435 Peachtree St. NE).
Georgia Appleseed helps judges interpret Safe at Home Act
The nonprofit Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice has crafted a “bench card” to help magistrate judges interpret and apply Georgia’s Safe at Home act for landlord-tenant cases.
The Safe at Home Act, which requires private rental housing to be “fit for human habitation,” went into effect on July 1, 2024. But the new law doesn’t define habitability, leaving it to judges’ discretion.
Georgia Appleseed’s bench card highlights the law’s key provisions:
- Warranty of Habitatbility: All residential leases must now include a non-waivable guarantee that premises are “fit for human habitation.” Landlords must keep units in good repair throughout tenancy.
- Utilities: The legal definition now includes cooling, in addition to heat, light, and water. Landlords cannot shut off these services before an eviction is finalized, and violations could result in fines of up to $500.
- Security Deposits: Security deposits must be capped at no more than two months’ rent, regardless of how they are labeled (e.g. damage deposit).
- Eviction Protections: Before filing an eviction for nonpayment of rent, a landlord must provide the tenant three business days’ written notice to pay or vacate. Tenants can prevent eviction by curing all owed amounts within this period.
The Safe at Home Act also helps protect tenants from landlord retaliation by shielding them from eviction, utility shutoffs, or rent increases within three months of reporting unsafe conditions.
Georgia Appleseed encourages judges to consult local housing codes when evaluating habitability claims and to verify landlords’ compliance with the new eviction notice and security deposit requirements.
Could Midtown’s growth fuel affordable housing efforts?
Atlanta City Councilmember Michael Julian Bond has a plan to turn Midtown’s explosive growth into a new source of funding for affordable housing.
Right now, Midtown apartment and condo developers can receive increased density allowances if they set aside a percentage of affordably priced units. But Bond has proposed an ordinance to create a trust fund that developers could opt to pay into with an “in-lieu fee” if they don’t want to include below-market-rate units in new residential towers. That money would be used to build or preserve affordable housing elsewhere in the city.
The slice of Midtown covered by the ordinance is located just east of the I-75/I-85 Connector.
Read our report here on why Bond’s proposal is stuck in committee — and how it could harness Midtown’s development boom if passed.
The Proctor is rising on the Westside
Nine months after Atlanta Housing (AH) and its development partners celebrated the groundbreaking for The Proctor, the $55.6 million apartment project has begun vertical construction at 698 Oliver Street in the English Avenue neighborhood, Urbanize Atlanta reports.
Forty-one, or 30%, of the project’s 137 apartments will be priced as affordable for households earning no more than 80% of the area median income. The rent-capped units will be earmarked for AH’s Housing Choice Voucher, or Section 8, recipients.
The eight-story building will also feature 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, a community pool, and workout facilities.
Today’s newsletter was written by Sean Keenan and edited by Meredith Hobbs. Your donation makes Housing Happenings and ACC’s housing reporting possible. Support local, nonprofit journalism that empowers Atlantans to improve their communities.
