HOUSING
Here you will find information on housing laws, accessible design and public/subsidized housing.
News
HUD Repeatedly Dismissed Staff Concerns About Contracts, By Carol D. Leonnig, The Washington Post, May 18, 2008
2006 Tenant Based Rental Assistance vouchers with HOME Funds, Information Bulletin #247 from Steve Gold, May 06, 2008
2006 HOME Investment Partnership Funds, Information Bulletin #247 from Steve Gold, May 06, 2008
Speakers to honor fair housing act, By Paul Wenske and Lynn Franey, The Kansas City Star, April 24, 2008
2006 Low Income Housing Tax Credits and the Lowest-Income Persons with Disabilities, Information Bulletin #245 from Steve Gold, April 21, 2008
Bush Names Housing Secretary, but Some Question Whether He Is Right for Job, By Rachel L. Swarns The New York Times, April 19, 2008
Increasing Section 504's Minimum 5%/1%1%, Information Bulletin #244 from Steve Gold
HUD's Notice Re "Reasonable Accommodation" and Increasing Housing Voucher Payments for Persons with Disabilities, Information Bulletin 243 from Steve Gold, April 11, 2008
HUD Secretary Jackson Resigns Amid Federal Probe, By Dawn Kopecki and Christopher Stern, March 31, 2008
HUD's Consolidated Plans and Housing "Cost Burdens.", From Steve Gold's Nuggets, February 25, 2008
New Website Links Renters with Affordable Housing in Kansas, From the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), February 28, 2008
Legislation
H.R.2895, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007 would establish ongoing, permanent, dedicated and sufficient sources of revenue to build, rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million units of housing for the lowest income families over the next 10 years. (HTML version of H.R.2895)
Advocacy Organizations and Informational Resources
The ABLEDATA Accessible Housing Resource Center links you to dozens of different websites with housing information of interest to people with disabilities.
The Center for Universal Design is a national research, information, and technical assistance center that evaluates, develops, and promotes accessible and universal design in housing, buildings, outdoor and urban environments and related products. The Center's work manifests the belief that all new environments and products, to the greatest extent possible, should be usable by everyone regardless of their age, ability, or circumstance. Part of the College of Design at North Carolina State University (NCSU), Raleigh, NC, the Center promotes the concept of universal design in all design, construction, and manufacturing disciplines through research, design assistance, and training.
Concrete Change - The definitive source for information on "visitable" design. In fact, Concrete Change coined the term "Visitablity" which basically means that a home is designed so that a person with a mobility impairment can get in and out of the house and use the bathroom. Everything you ever wanted to know about Visitablity can be found here.
DisabilityInfo.gov is the federal government's one-stop Web site for information of interest to people with disabilities, their families, employers, service providers and many others. This section of DisabilityInfo.gov provides information on housing laws, design and technical advice for people with disabilities, their family members, public housing organizations and the nation's builders.
The Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing or DRACH, is the first--and only-- disability housing coalition on the national scene. Beyond its policy work and grassroots organizing, DRACH conducts workshops on housing issues; stages direct actions; distributes alerts and action plans to national advocacy networks; works with other housing organizations; drafts legislation; and participates on housing boards, committees, work groups and public forums--among other things.
The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) administers and enforces federal laws and establishes policies that make sure all Americans have equal access to the housing of their choice. They may be able to help you with housing discrimination problems.
Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. provides Tenant and Landlord, Homeownership, and Credit Counseling Services. One-on-one counseling is available by phone, in-person, or online from HCCI offices in Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan and Emporia.
The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation mission is to enhance Kansas communities with housing opportunities. This goal is achieved through using a variety of strategies and approaches, including increasing homeownership opportunities, leveraging the construction of more affordable rental housing, preserving existing housing through rehabilitation, promoting energy efficiency improvements for owner-occupied and rental housing, providing affordable housing through rent assistance to low-income families and senior citizens, and creating housing opportunities for previously underserved persons and communities.
HUD's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Database provideds selective access to data on HUD's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program. Through this program investors receive a credit against their federal taxes in exchange for providing funds to build or renovate housing at rents within reach of low-income people. You can use the Database to locate properties that participate in the LIHTC Program in your community.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to ending America’s affordable housing crisis. We believe that this is achievable, that the affordable housing crisis is a problem that Americans are capable of solving. While we are concerned about the housing circumstances of all low income people, we focus our advocacy on those with the most serious housing problems, the lowest income households.
Steve Gold's Nuggets is a website and listserve maintained by renowned disability rights attorney Steve Gold. It contains timely, useful information on topics of importance to people with disabilities, such as, housing, Medicaid, nursing homes and education.
Topeka Housing Authority operates the public housing, Section 8 and other programs to assist low-income households in Topeka.
Publications
Kansas Accessibility Modification Program (KAMP) Factsheet (KAMP assists eligible persons with disabilities in making accessiblility modifications to their residence.)
Housing Assistance Council News, Vol. 35, No. 07, April 5, 2006 (Information on rural low-income housing issues)
Priced Out is a series of housing publications created as a joint effort by the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. (TAC) and the Washington DC-based Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force. Priced Out is published every two years to bring attention to our nation's most compelling, and least understood, housing affordability crisis. Each edition of Priced Out helps measure the gap between HUD's Fair Market Rents and the incomes of individuals and families who rely on monthly SSI benefits. The goal of these biennial reports is to shed light on the housing crisis being faced by people with significant and long-term disabilities.