Anxious. Annoyed. Angry. Those are just a few of the emotions expressed by the steady stream of Black folks seen walking in and out of the magistrate case information office inside the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday as some desperately sought legal aid before appearing in court for pending eviction cases. Metro Atlanta […]
rent relief
Posted inGentrification, Housing
Atlanta’s Largest Homeless Encampment Is About to Be Cleared
Atlanta’s largest homeless encampment is scheduled to be “decommissioned” on Monday as city officials continue working to clear potentially hazardous tent cities in the wake of the January tragedy that resulted in Cornelius Taylor’s death. Up until recently, the encampment located downtown beneath Interstate 20 on Pryor Street was home to as many as 80 […]
Posted inHousing, Politics & Policy
Warnock Wants to Help Young Atlantans Buy Homes, Pay Rent
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., introduced a set of new federal housing bills on Tuesday that may be a lifeline for Atlantans struggling to pay rent and purchase their first home. The policy proposals face steep challenges to becoming law in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, but GOP leaders in other states […]
Posted inHousing, Politics & Policy
Why Affordable Housing Advocates Worry Atlanta’s Unhoused Population Is Growing
It’s been about three years since Janice Ruff reported her former landlord to the Atlanta Police Department’s housing code enforcement division for refusing to make repairs to her old apartment. That landlord received an estimated $3,500 fine, according to Ruff, who said he evicted her a short time later for having a “smart mouth.” She’s […]
Posted inHousing
Homeless Census Reveals a Rise in Unhoused Black Workers in Atlanta
Lower-income Black workers whose stagnant wages aren’t keeping up with rent prices are driving the growth in Atlanta’s homeless population, according to an annual count of the city’s unhoused. The ranks of Atlanta’s homeless grew to 2,867 people, a 7% spike from the 2,679 homeless people counted in January 2023 in Partners for HOME’s annual […]
Posted inState Politics
Legislation Addressing Sky-High Rent Prices Stalls — Again
Black people across Georgia are desperate for rent relief, but state lawmakers don’t appear poised to pass legislation to directly address the problem. Only one bill specifically addressing residential rent prices or homelessness secured passage in at least one legislative chamber by Thursday night as the Gold Dome’s fabled Crossover Day came and went. Crossover […]
Posted inHousing, Money
Why This Black Lawmaker is Pushing Rent Control Legislation
A veteran member of the Georgia General Assembly is calling for an end to the state’s 39-year-old ban on rent control laws. State Sen. Donzella James on Thursday introduced a bill that would repeal sections of Georgia law barring local governments from issuing rent regulation restrictions. Georgia lawmakers issued a statewide ban on such laws […]
Posted inHousing, Money
Tenants Denied Rent Relief Express Outrage Over City’s $10M in Unused Funds
Cherie Miller was angry Monday morning when she heard that city leaders had announced plans to send $10 million in unused COVID-19 rent relief funds back to the federal government. The 55-year-old grandmother is in the process of being evicted from the Capitol Gateway Apartments near Downtown, where she’s been renting for the past 11 […]