HOUSING JUSTICE NATIONAL PLATFORM
for a Homes Guarantee
ABOUT
WE ARE
We are a movement of tenants, homeowners and allies, and we are building power and winning victories for housing justice all across the country.
WE BELIEVE
We believe that housing is a human right, not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit. We believe that everyone should be guaranteed an affordable, safe and healthy place to call home. We believe that homes must be accessible for people with physical or other disabilities, as well as to where people work, go to school and have built a community. And we know that to build a just housing system, we must start now.
THE NATIONAL HOUSING CRISIS
The nation’s housing crisis has reached emergency levels. Many families spend more than half of their earnings on rent, struggling to hold down jobs that pay too little in order to put more money into landlords’ pockets.
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Rising homelessness, evictions and housing instability are all the result of a system that advances the interests of Wall Street and corporations over the health and well-being of our families and our communities.
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It doesn’t have to be this way. We’re in a moment of incredible change, where people are fighting for universal healthcare, sanctuary for immigrants, free college and a Green New Deal. We need to be equally bold in demanding homes for all. That is why tenants, manufactured home residents, homeowners and community members across the country are coming together to chart
a path forward.
THE SOLUTIONS
ONE
Create Affordable, Community-Controlled, Social Housing
Everyone deserves housing that allows them to live with dignity, regardless of their income level. No one should ever have to choose between paying rent and having enough food or medicine. And everyone should be able to cover their housing costs, including utilities, and still have enough to meet their other basic needs. Our public policy must guarantee this basic standard of living.
TWO
Protect Renters and Mortgage Holders from Displacement
Eviction is a devastating event that has ripple effects on health, education, employment and future access to housing. We need new protections that prevent landlords and lenders from displacing people and tearing apart communities in search of ever-higher profits.
THREE
Provide Reparations for Centuries of Racist Housing and Land Policy, Indigenous Land Theft; Strengthen and Enforce Fair Housing Law
Our housing policy must actively dismantle and provide restitution for a legacy of racist exclusion and exploitation. Housing, by location and design, must foster the inclusion of its residents, including those currently experiencing homelessness. Historically marginalized communities must lead in decision-making related to housing and community development.
FOUR
De-commodify Housing and Regulate Wall Street
Housing and land should be democratically owned and controlled by community members, not by Wall Street and corporations. We need strong financial regulations that disincentivize securitization and profit-driven speculation in our housing.
FIVE
Ensure All Homes are Healthy and Sustainable
Housing is the foundation for healthy, sustainable communities. Housing policy should seek to maximize the well-being of residents and workers and promote climate resiliency, clean and renewable energy, and safe and affordable water systems.
We have a plan to address that national housing crisis.
ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS
NATIONAL
Action Center for Race and the Economy (ACRE) | Alliance for Housing Justice | Bargaining for the Common Good (BCG) | Center for Popular Democracy | Homes For All (Organizing Committee) | MHAction | Partnership for Working Families | People’s Action | PolicyLink | RACE FORWARD | Right to the City Alliance
STATE / LOCAL
9to5 Colorado / Colorado Homes For All | Access Task Force, Lansing | Action NC | Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action (ACCE Action) | Alliance for Community Transit — Los Angeles | Alliance for Metropolitan Stability | Arkansas Community Organizations | BASTA, Inc. | Building Movement Project/Detroit People’s Platform | CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities | Causa Justa :: Just Cause | City Life Vida Urbana | City-Wide Tenant Union of Rochester | Coalition of Organized Residents of East Liberty | Community Justice Project | DARE — Direct Action for Rights & Equality | Detroit Action | East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) | East Bay Housing Organizations | East LA Community Corporation | Equal Justice Society | Esperanza Community Housing Corporation | Esperanza Peace and Justice Center | Frogtown Neighborhood Association | Georgia Stand-Up | Grassroots Collaborative | Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center | HEART L.A. — Housing Equality & Advocacy Resource Team | Hill District Consensus Group | Homes For All (Organizing Committee) | Homes For All Newark (HFAN) | Indivisible Sausalito | InnerCity Struggle | Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (Renters United for Justice) | Investing in Place | Ironbound Community Corporation | Jane Addams Senior Caucus | Just Harvest | Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition | LAANE | LA Forward | Landless Peoples' Alliance / Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters | Liberty Resources, Inc. | Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center | Montgomery Citizens United for Prosperity (MCUP) | New York Communities for Change | NYS Upstate Downstate Housing Alliance | ONE DC | ONE Northside | One Pennsylvania | Organize Sacramento | Our Natural Homes Property Management LLC | Partnership for the Public Good | People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing, and Employment (PATHE) | People’s Housing Coalition of Maine | Pittsburgh United | Pittsburghers for Public Transit | Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada | Public Advocates Inc. | Public Engagement Associates | Puget Sound Sage | PUSH Buffalo | Raise-Op Housing Cooperative | Reclaim Philadelphia | Rochester City-Wide Tenants Union | San Antonio Historic Westside Resident Association | Social Justice Learning Institute | Springfield No One Leaves | Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) | Struggle for Miami’s Affordable and Sustainable Housing, Inc. | SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) — Marin Chapter | Tenants Together | United for a New Economy | Urban Habitat | Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs | Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless | Western Regional Advocacy Project | Women's Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) | Working Partnerships USA
Join us in endorsing the National Housing Justice Platform. Sign your organization on as an endorser today.