Housing is a Human Right
Enshrine the Right to Housing
- Pass national law recognizing an enforceable right to adequate housing and fund legal counsel for low‑income renters facing eviction.
- Create a Housing Rights Enforcement Office to remediate violations and secure remedies (rehousing, repairs, compensation).
2. Massive Affordable Housing Production
- Build and preserve 3–5 million permanently affordable homes over 10 years via social housing, nonprofits, and community land trusts.
- Prioritize deeply affordable units for extremely low‑income households and people exiting homelessness.
3. End Homelessness — Housing First
- Implement Housing First nationwide: immediate permanent housing plus wraparound services (mental health, addiction, employment).
- Replace emergency-shelter dependence with permanent supportive homes and rapid rehousing pathways.
4. Strong Tenant Protections
- Guarantee right to counsel in eviction cases; ban no‑fault evictions without relocation assistance; cap rent increases and require just cause.
- Strengthen anti‑retaliation and anti‑discrimination enforcement, including banning source‑of‑income discrimination.
5. Preserve & Convert Existing Housing
- Use public financing to preserve affordable rentals and convert vacant or underused properties into permanently affordable homes and co‑ops.
- Expand community land trusts and deed restrictions to remove land from speculative markets.
6. Zoning Reform & Inclusive Development
- End exclusionary zoning: allow multi‑family and missing‑middle housing near transit and jobs; require affordable set‑asides and fast permits for affordable projects.
- Tie federal housing funds to local zoning reforms and inclusionary policies.
7. Expand Rental Assistance & Supportive Services
- Scale vouchers to cover local rents and reduce waiting lists; fund case management, job support, and health services tied to housing placements.
- Create eviction prevention programs and emergency rental/legal aid.
8. Public, Nonprofit & Cooperative Housing
- Invest in public and nonprofit social housing and tenant‑owned cooperatives as permanent affordability anchors.
- Support tenant purchase rights and conversions to resident control.
9. Climate‑Resilient, Healthy Homes
- Fund energy retrofits, flood/heat resilience, and healthy‑housing remediation prioritized for frontline communities.
- Enforce housing health standards with remediation funding for unsafe conditions.
10. Just Transition & Good Jobs
- Hire locally for construction and rehab projects; require living wages, apprenticeship programs, and small‑contractor access.
- Support regions dependent on speculative development with pivot grants and economic diversification.
11. Progressive Financing & Anti‑Speculation Measures
- Fund housing with a mix of federal appropriations, housing trust funds, vacancy/land‑value taxes, and redirected tax expenditures.
- Tax speculative vacant properties and short‑term rentals to finance affordable housing.
12. Data, Accountability & Targets
- Mandate local housing needs assessments, public dashboards, and national targets (zero unsheltered homelessness within 5 years; major reductions in cost‑burden within 10).
- Tie federal funding to measurable progress and independent audits.
Campaign Promise
- Vote to end evictions, abolish homelessness, stop displacement, and make homes permanently affordable — because shelter is not a privilege, it’s a right