Shelterforce

Through its bequests and aging in place program, financial education offerings, and more, Artist Space Trust works to stabilize Bay Area artists in their communities. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute chats with one of the trust's founders and its executive director about where the group came from, what makes a housing group for artists different, and the legacy of elders in the arts community they...

It’s getting tougher for immigrant communities to believe they still have rights as renters—even if they are living in the country legally. Here’s how tenant organizers are helping these communities push back against ICE and the landlords who are weaponizing the current political environment. Frances Nguyen, Shelterforce's housing fellow, reports. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/20...

Stan Chisholm found housing stability through a local nonprofit that helps artists buy their first homes. Frank Navarrete reads his latest story for Shelterforce. Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/08/in-st-louis-artist-housing-opens-up-homeownership-opportunities/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

While affordable housing with some office space for nonprofits is relatively common, in Redmond, Washington, a group of human services organizations went the other way: they rebuilt their collective office space and added housing. Kim Sarnecki, the CEO of the Together Center, explains how it all works. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/10/nonprofits-own-these-offices-and-put-...

Enabled by provisions in the JOBS Act of 2012 that allow smaller scale investing, community members are becoming co-owners of local real estate projects. Sandra Larson reports for Shelterforce. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/09/crowdfunded-real-estate-projects-bring-in-community-investors/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Creative problem solving is pushing community ownership models forward. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute explains what you can expect in our new Under the Lens series, Innovations in Community Ownership. Read Miriam's editor's note at https://shelterforce.org/2025/09/09/more-land-more-ways-for-more-people-whats-new-in-community-ownership/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

President Trump has floated cutting Community Development Block Grants entirely from the federal budget, which Congress has so far declined to do. How do these grants get used at the local level? Frank Navarrete reads his latest story for Shelterforce, "What Does CDBG Do?" Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/29/what-does-cdbg-do/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Local politics seem to be shifting in the Garden State. More towns have submitted plans to show how they will provide their ‘fair share’ of affordable housing than in the past, and the state has a new way to work with municipalities that push back against their housing obligations. Reporting by Roshan Abraham. Read by John Ludas. Check out the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/22/fifty-yea...

Several groups are serving as mediators for faith-based development, helping congregations access funding, navigate long-term development processes, and avoid developer exploitation. Shelterforce's Frances Nguyen reports. Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2025/08/06/the-matchmakers-bringing-churches-and-developers-together/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Since the spring, the nonprofit's funding has been delivered monthly instead of in full, leaving member organizations operating paycheck-to-paycheck and putting projects on hold. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute reports. Read the full article at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/31/some-neighborworks-members-struggle-under-new-funding-schedule/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

The law raises funding for LIHTC, but steep cuts to social programs will more than outweigh the benefits. Here's a look at what's in the tax law, along with a second bill that would slash housing funding if passed. Reporting by Roshan Abraham; read by John Ludas. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/25/how-trumps-tax-law-will-deepen-housing-insecurity/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

In the last six months, lawmakers in more than two dozen cities and states have made strides to stop landlords from using anti-competitive rental software to determine how much to charge for rent. Shelterforce's Lillian Ortiz reports on the wins and losses so far. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/11/legislators-push-back-against-rent-setting-software/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Home is no longer a safe space for thousands of families who live with someone who's undocumented. Caught between housing assistance and ICE surveillance, many are forced to be silent—or self-evict. Shelterforce's Shelby R. King reports. Read the full story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/23/huds-cooperation-with-ice-stokes-fear-in-immigrant-communities/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

In an time when many organizations are trying to adapt their messaging to reach a wider audience—which can be done—it's important to look to the research to avoid some pitfalls along the way, says Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute. The following is a lightly edited version of remarks given at the Grounded Solutions Network conference on May 29, for a panel on “The Power of Storytelling: Delivering a...

The mayoral candidate made a rent freeze central to his campaign. Here's how his supporters used in-person campaigning to clinch a victory, and what's ahead. Listen as John Ludas reads, "What Zohran Mamdani’s Primary Win Means for the Tenant Movement," written by Roshan Abraham. Read the story at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/09/what-zohran-mamdanis-primary-win-means-for-the-tenant-movement/ ℗...

The tax bill includes a significant expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. However, its other provisions, especially cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, are so harmful that the affordable housing field should not be celebrating. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute explains. Read the full op-ed at https://shelterforce.org/2025/07/02/trumps-big-ugly-bill-is-a-loss-for-housing/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

When a new owner imposed sharp rent hikes in 2018, tenants organized and fought back. Now, more than 300 housing units will be affordable for the foreseeable future. Here’s how the tenants made it happen. Reporting by Sandra Larson; read by John Ludas. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

The Trump administration wants to nearly halve funding for federal rental assistance and make the states figure out how to distribute what’s left. Tenants, landlords, and housing providers say the fallout would be catastrophic, spiking homelessness and destabilizing communities. Shelby R. King reports. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though they are still error prone, these AI tools save time, and housing researchers are optimistic about the future. Reporting by Franklin Schneider; read by John Ludas. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

HUD's new website is missing many of the resources that users relied on, including much of its archived content. Shelterforce's Miriam Axel-Lute gives us a look at what's changed, and why she believes the revamp was actually a way to cover for a drastic whitewashing operation. Read the op-ed here: https://shelterforce.org/2025/06/24/whats-missing-from-huds-shrunken-website/ ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

New software and web-based applications help speed up the recertification process for voucher holders, give tenants an easier way to request repairs and communicate with staff, and help disabled residents live more independent lives. Shelterforce's Jill Webb reports. Read the full story here: https://shelterforce.org/2025/06/26/how-affordable-housing-providers-are-embracing-tech-to-manage-housing/...

With higher-valued properties under assessed and lower-valued properties over assessed, advocates say there's still a problem with Detroit's property tax system. Listen to "Detroit Says Problems With Property Tax Assessments Are Fixed. Advocates Disagree." Reporting for this story is by Roshan Abraham; read by Lara Heard. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

As the mortgage industry becomes further automated, can artificial intelligence be trained to avoid replicating historic bias and expand access to loans for excluded borrowers? Some housing advocates are cautiously optimistic. Shelterforce's Frances Nguyen reports. Read the full story here: https://shelterforce.org/2025/06/19/training-ai-to-tackle-bias-in-the-mortgage-industry/ ℗ Music by ComaStud...

We’ve found more than a dozen examples of tenant-serving technology that help renters identify landlords, respond to eviction, fight back against housing discrimination, and more. Sandra Larson reports for Shelterforce. ℗ Music by ComaStudio .

In Springfield, Missouri, tenants have filed a lawsuit against the past and present owners of their tax credit–financed properties, claiming that in exercising an opt-out provision they violated both state and federal requirements. Listen to, "Missouri Tenants Sue Owners Who They Say Broke Rules in Exiting Tax Credit Program," written by Hope Davis; read by Frank Navarrrete. Check out the story at...