housing part 2
so what the h*ck is next?!?!?!
2065 words, and 8 minute and 30 second read
Firstly, I am overwhelmed, humbled, and absolutely delighted that the first part of this discussion was so widely discussed. That should be plenty of evidence that there is an appetite for these things to change in Oshkosh, and it was wonderful that SO many folks reached out with personal stories, suggestions, and were able to have a real and heartfelt discussions with their neighbors on a subject that impacts all of us every day.
A million times ‘thank you’ to all that read and commented and messaged and emailed and more (and if you didn’t read part 1 yet, it’s here)
This week I was fortunate to be given time to learn and ask question by some AMAZING folks at Winnebago County (thank you Lu) and attended the Esther Fox Valley Housing Task Force meeting (these folks are doing some amazing work, please learn more here and if you are interested in helping there, please reach out to them).
SO…what should we do next???
Same disclaimer as before from me: This is a subject that I am passionate about and will continue working on whether elected or no. ‘Housing’ is a BIG subject…the only thing I know for sure is that the more we discuss it candidly the better off we will be.
AND…I’ve had a bit of a change of heart on one notion here:
I used to believe that it would help lots if some group, or municipality/agency/county/advocacy group etc. could find a way to coordinate all the different efforts on this subject into one place. It WOULD be amazing if that were the case, however I’ve changed my mind a bit to thinking that the effort it would take to make that happen would be really really difficult, and that it ultimately would just take too long and take resources from the efforts needed right now. Not that it’s not great when everybody collaborates (and they do!) but also:
1 housing authority makes a difference, 1 non-profit agency makes a difference, 1 city making wise choices makes a difference, 1 county making wise decisions makes a difference, 1 landlord housing 1 more person makes a difference, and 1 citizen talking to 1 other with an open mind makes a difference too.
So more of all of that please.
Below are some of the things I think would be most helpful. please holler with any and all suggestions of your own.
tenant resource center + meaningful inspections
I figured it would be best to start with the most divisive idea and the one that is certain to alienate some voters (but hey, I’m not here to tell you what you want to hear just to get your vote…this really is important!). Once upon a time (2016 ish) Oshkosh enacted (for a minute) a rental inspection program that would have helped to improve our housing stock. It was opposed by some member organizations, and ultimately a group of landlords had success in suing the city to change the policy (here’s a flashback). What we have at current is a voluntary inspection program where tenants need to essentially call the inspections dept. and report anything that is wrong with their rental. And yes, if that sounds like something you might not want to do as a renter, you are correct…it’s not a pleasant thing to have to do, and even though retaliation is very much against the law, that likely happens if you report the wrong landlord to the city.
My opinion (very publicly in 2016) and now is the same: part of the unique issue Oshkosh has with housing is caused by the fact that the rental units in our stock that should rent for the least rent for more than they should. There is no recourse or reason for a landlord to improve a substandard unit (why would you spend $$$ to make something nicer of safer if you don’t have to). Because they can be, the least expensive housing options in Oshkosh are more expensive than they should be. And yes, I believe that further accountability would improve this.
I would propose (as legal precedent WAS set that prohibits a lot of the best options for inspections) a city-funded tenant resource center that is not housed in the planning or inspections dept. to help advocate for tenants and tenants’ rights when issues arise. Inspections could stem from issues reported there as needed. Yes, it will take some time for that process to become effective and for reporting issues to not be seen as tattling on your landlord. I’ve told the story a lot lately that when I attended college in Eau Claire in the late 90s, there was a TRC there. It was widely used and had been established long enough that nobody thought twice about reporting an issue as a tenant, and landlords did not take offense when items were brought to their attention. It is possible and has the added benefit of helping tenants with a ton of other issues as the resource improves over time.
AND…for bonus points: Did you know that at one point…recently…there was a Rental Housing Advisory Board in Osh? (honestly, I had sort of forgotten)? I dug into their disbandment a bit this last week, spoke to some former committee members and some folks at the city, and a couple of differing opinions as to why that board no longer exists. Ultimately it doesn’t matter why, as we SHOULD have that committee. I would move to reform a RHAB and first task to them would be to form an Oshkosh Tenant Resource Center.
2. make it easier for the people who need housing the most
Here is the very best question I was asked after my last post on housing:
If landlords can do a criminal background check for rentals, why don’t banks do them for mortgages? (let it sink in).
As I mentioned in the last post, my wife and I do not do background checks of our potential tenants (or for that matter employees).
VERY technically, the federal government prohibits using criminal convictions (with some specific exemptions of course) as a basis to deny housing (read it here). A landlord may screen applicants with background check, but legally may not deny without very specific cause (like the safety of other tenants) (here’s an excerpt from the above ‘policies involving screening based on drug-related convictions may be more likely to be found to be discriminatory in nature as they may not relate as directly to safety of persons and property as the others’.
Do you think landlords in your city ever use past misdemeanor drug charges, or disorderly conduct, as a reason to not rent an apartment (if you read the last part of this series, you will know that they do).
Cities (and states) can, should, and are making changes to local ordinances to improve these holdups for their community. The example that seems to have been most widely accepted by landlords and tenants alike in my research is this provision from NJ. It prevents a landlord from using a background check for housing until after an offer for housing has been made. Then there are set methods for addressing the tenancy IF issues come up. This removes the initial stigma that prevents so many folks from even getting close to renting an apartment, and landlords retain the ability to protect the safety of other tenants and property. From everything I’ve read, it has worked pretty well.
For bonus points: Oshkosh should at the very least look at implementing a policy like the above in any instance where public funds are used to build housing. There should never arise an instance where a TIF is used to ‘help address the housing shortage’ in Oshkosh by building new apartments that refuse, for unfounded reasons, to rent to the folks who want to live there. That defeats the purpose of the public funds.
3. incentivize the right projects & make the code work
At a recent Council meeting there was a LOT of discussion about a new housing project happening in Oshkosh near a body of water (but let’s not get back into that!). At that council meeting, I heard a lot of folks say something along the lines of ‘all new housing is beneficial to our overall shortage’ (even though the units being discussed and approved will be above market rate, and our most recent housing study indicates the most important need is at the other lower end of the spectrum). This is very technically true. Housing stock and pricing is, to a degree, a function of supply and demand, and sure…more is more. I keep thinking looking at the issue in that manner is like a sick person going to the Dr. and Dr. saying: ‘we have some medicine that we know will help you, but instead of that…maybe just eat a little better?’. I think we can do better.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU do read more here), changing setback code, allowing for smaller lot sizes and multiple structures per site would all be SUPER simple code changes that we can make now (and I bet developers small and large will make use of the new options).
Tiny Home Village in Oshkosh is an OUTSTANDING example of how these sorts of out-of -the-box ideas can be hugely impactful and successful.
Most of the country’s largest cities are mandating to some degree that new housing developments include a percentage market or low-income housing …and incentivizing them to be built in that manner. (some examples if you’d like to read more). That last example from Costa Mesa has a quote that sums up the theory pretty well: ‘“The idea here is to rezone property at a higher density and ultimately incentivize development, and then as part of that incentive to get something back in terms of affordable housing for the community,”
I like the new low-income development coming to Downtown Oshkosh very much, and happy to have it near where I live. More of that fine as well, but I think best and most beneficial changes going forward focus on new developments including a percentage of the most needed types of housing.
for BIG bonus points (and once we get another couple of things moving in a better direction: Have you been following along with the single family home project in Sheboygan? It’s remarkable, and I’m legit jealous. Lots to read here. In short. The largest employers in that area invested in a collaborative project with the EDC (economic development corp) to build single family entry-level homes to attract people to move there. And they will move there. 600 homes over 5 years. That lots of folks will be able to buy. These people will fill jobs that VERY much need filling, and make that community all the better for it.
I swear we can do things like this too no?
4. the easiet one i swear
As i mentioned in the last post, my wife and I are opening vacant units as they come up in our apartments to section 8 voucher holders, folks working with HUD/Esther, and others in need most first from here on out. There are good programs in place to help people find housing, but I am finding that there is a stigma attached to those programs by landlords (and it also does not help that lots of the discussion above allows the market here to charge whatever they would like and disallow folks for reasons that should not disqualify them).
Discussing any and all of the items here helps. Especially when talking about the folks who need housing of any type the most.
Our teeny tiny amount of apartments being rented in a manner that helps one or 2 people at a time…but I am going to keep telling you about it.
Not because I want your vote, but because I hope more landlords can be encouraged to consider the same.
Every little bit!
All of these items are really, of course, just the tip of the iceberg. I think these attainable items and a good starting point but have learned that the folks reading and discussing these things have better ideas than mine.
SO…as always…any comments, email button below, or comment online (if you haven’t noticed yet, I really will reply candidly to everybody!)