Social Housing is publicly owned and permanently affordable. It creates cross-class communities and renter leadership.
The Four Pillars of Social Housing
Publicly Owned
Social housing is publicly financed and controlled, with the express aim of housing people, not extracting profit. Renters and their homes are shielded from the free market, with specific measures prohibiting the sale and marketization of social housing to ensure it remains in the public's hands, for public use.
Permanently Affordable
Under a social housing model, rent is not determined by the market and profit motives. Rent is determined by the buildings loan balance, upkeep, and maintenance needs.
Cross-Class Communities
Social housing is available to all, from those with the lowest incomes up to moderate-to-high income households. Rents are designed to match the specific income levels of all tenants. This is crucial given the severe rent burden faced by residents across the income spectrum, especially residents from marginalized communities. It’s hard for people making 60-120% of the Area Median Income to find housing they can afford.
Resident Leadership
Residents have democratic decision making power and have control over the conditions of their buildings and homes.
Social housing complements existing affordable housing.
Funding social housing
Small capital grant
The Public Developer receives a small capital grant each year set aside from the government budget. (The public developer can also apply for all available grants from every level of government).
Bond issuance
The Public Developer has bonding authority, meaning they can issue municipal bonds in exchange for loans. These are very low-interest loans that would grow the developer’s spending account substantially.
Construction or aquisition
The fund created with the bonded grant is used to buy and construct land or acquire buildings from the private market.
Renters move & pay rent
Renters of varying income levels move into the new developments and pay rent. Those with higher incomes pay more (the 30% rule), allowing the developer to maintain and operate the building, as well as pay off the loans.
Bonding on rents
The Public Developer can then issue more bonds on the payment of future rents. This money can be used to acquire or build new buildings and bring in new residents.
Loans paid off
Once the loans on a building are paid off, the excess income from residents’ rent will go directly into the developer’s financial portfolio to be used to build and acquire more housing.
Learn more about social housing
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![Center for Public Enterprise]()
The Basic Logistics of Public Development
by Paul Elliot Williams
Over the past week, a flurry of pieces were published on publicly developed housing. -
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Social Housing in the U.S.
by Oksana Mironova and Thomas J. Waters
The progressive wing of the Democratic Party is increasingly including housing in its broader progressive vision nationally.
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Public Housing for All
by Paul Williams
A system of public enterprises that build and operate housing will help us out of our current crisis and will be a step toward sharing America’s vast urban land wealth among us all.
