Transcript Document

Analysis of Impediments
to Fair Housing Choice
Sam Gannon
7/18/2015
Greenville County Human
Relations Commission
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Overview
The Human Relations Commission has
identified
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Areas in which impediments occur
Types and kinds of impediments
Local strategies to overcome impediments
Recommendations for further research
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Relations Commission
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Where do impediments occur?
Public sector
Private sector
Combined public and private sector
Public involvement constraints
Visitability constraints
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Relations Commission
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Types and kinds of impediments
Most identified impediments involved
one or more of the following:
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Consumer education
Lack of affordable housing programs
Lack of rehabilitation programs
Low quality rental stock
Decrease in number of public housing units
Few emergency shelter/transitional housing sites
Low educational attainment
Inability of local government to address needs of population
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Relations Commission
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Identified Impediments
1. Lack of education in many issues of
personal economics (credit and debt, their
rights and responsibilities as renters, how to
obtain a loan, budgeting their pay check
and accessing public assistance programs).
2. Outright discrimination when seeking safe,
decent and affordable housing.
3. Affordable areas often do not include fair
access to infrastructure, including
sidewalks, clean streets, police patrols,
commercial centers & public transportation.
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Relations Commission
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Impediments
4. Subprime and predatory lenders rob
homeowners of their equity and often cause
foreclosure and homelessness.
5. Immigrants to Greenville County often face
many cultural and language barriers when
attempting to obtain human and social
services from local government and when
attempting to obtain housing.
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Relations Commission
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Impediments
6. People often cannot obtain a job that will
pay a wage that will allow for better housing
and public transportation does always
operate on routes or at times that are
conducive to working higher-salaried jobs.
7. The number, quality, affordability and
accessibility of the housing stock does not
meet the needs of residents.
8. There is a lack of funding for fair housing
education and outreach programs in all
parts of Greenville County.
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Relations Commission
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Impediments
9. Lack of affordable housing stock for people
with disabilities and the inability of people
with disabilities to financially afford to make
improvements to owner/renter-housing.
10. A disproportionate number of persons
receiving public housing assistance are
minority, which contributes to segregated
housing patterns.
11. Some people are resistant when minorities,
low-income and/or special needs persons
first move into predominantly white and/or
higher incomeGreenville
areas.
County Human
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Relations Commission
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Impediments
12.Individuals and families seeking fair housing
are not always given every affordable
option.
13.Minorities often have apprehensions about
moving beyond their communities into more
traditionally white or middle income areas.
14.Many owner/renter-occupied units are not
properly weatherized, are not energy
efficient and do not have a safe and decent
heating source or funds to rehabilitate.
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Greenville County Human
Relations Commission
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Impediments
15. Some affordable housing opportunities in
traditionally white or middle-to-high income
areas are never made available to the
larger population.
16. Lead paint in housing units creates an
access barrier to low-income/minority
individuals and families.
17. No multi-discipline fair housing review board
exists to examine the wide range of fair
housing activity in Greenville County.
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Relations Commission
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Impediments
18. The cost associated with developing
affordable housing is often high due to
delays in the permit approval process.
19. The higher cost of infill development
severely limits urban affordable housing
opportunities.
20. Urban areas have some of the highest
property taxes, which cause many lowincome owner-occupied households to
become tax-delinquent and sometimes lose
their homes to foreclosure.
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Relations Commission
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Impediments
21.Those who live in minority or low to
moderate-income areas find it difficult
to obtain gainful employment and
conduct business in their own
community.
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Relations Commission
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Priorities for Barrier Elimination
Home Purchase Assistance Programs
Low-Interest Loans/Grants for
Rehabilitation of Owner-Occupied
Provision of Additional Units to Serve Low
Income Families
Emergency Shelter & Transitional Housing
Job Training/Retraining/Enhancement
Programs
Diversity Training for Government, Private
& Non-Profit Agencies
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Relations Commission
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Program Recommendations
Help in Housing
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Touch tone response telephone service that
provides prerecorded messages on housing issues
Sample topics: how to file a housing discrimination
complaint, how to locate affordable housing, what
programs offer assistance for first-time home buyers,
strategies for mediation, listing and call forwarding to
agencies that offer assistance
English and Spanish
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Relations Commission
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Program Recommendations
Fair Housing Workshops for Landlords
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A free quarterly, half-day voluntary training for
property owners and managers
Topics: credit reference checks, fair housing issues,
landlord/tenant rights, mediation and resolution,
good practices in residential management, locating
funding for rehabilitation, lead based paint removal
and renovating for accessibility
Attendants will receive certificates stating that they
attended the Fair Housing Workshop
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Relations Commission
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Program Recommendations
Service Provider Forum
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A quarterly forum of housing service providers and
local government
Forums would offer discussion and resource-sharing
and idea-sharing opportunities
Quarterly newsletters distills ideas from the forums
An e-mail list serve would allow members to
communicate quickly and effectively with the
membership
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Relations Commission
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Program Recommendations
Homeownership Education Program
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Program to teach renters the skills necessary to
become home owners
Standardized and offered across the county
24 hours of classroom and laboratory activity
Key knowledge areas: wise use of credit, the loan
application process and closing process, home
owners insurance and home maintenance
Qualified instructors from various fields and sectors
Classes are offered in both English and Spanish
Classes are offered in every odd month
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Relations Commission
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Program Recommendations
Neighborhood Employment Training
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Varied, hands-on training program for low-moderate
income adults
Training would include employment readiness skills,
job placement, neighborhood-based skills training,
entrepreneurial training, home-based business
development, job counseling, workplace skills,
workplace ethics
Qualified instructors from various fields and sectors
Classes are taught in both English and Spanish
Classes are offered continuously, five days weekly
for four weeks each time
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Relations Commission
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Research Recommendations
Analysis and geocoding of Section 8 vouchers to determine
whether publicly funded program locations contribute to a
concentration of urban poverty in Greenville County
Analysis and geocoding of Mobile Home/Manufactured Housing
permits to determine whether this correlates to and contributes to
the location of non-urbanized poor
Examination of federal, state and local funding by census tract and
an analysis of the effects
Disposition of small business loans in low-income areas
Distribution of high cost subprime lending activity (based on HMDA
reports)
Profile of private multi-family rental housing for compliance with
disability provisions
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Relations Commission
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