HomeMy Public PortalAbout18-9568 Calling on Senator Bill Nelson and the United States Senate to Pass Legislation that will Affirm the Right to all Renters Sponsored by: Commissioner Riley
RESOLUTION NO. 18-9568
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-
LOCKA, FLORIDA, CALLING ON SENATOR BILL NELSON AND THE
UNITED STATES SENATE TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT WILL
AFFIRM THE RIGHT OF ALL RENTERS, ESPECIALLY SENIORS, TO A
SAFE, AFFORDABLE, AND DECENT HOME; AUTHORIZING THE
CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT THIS RESOLUTION; PROVIDING FOR
INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Whereas, housing is a basic human right; and
Whereas,the middle class is shrinking, and the tax system seems to help more people at the
top than at the bottom of the income scale and for the last generation, most Americans have not
seen their real earnings rise, but their bills are going up every month, and the costs of housing,
healthcare, and childcare are pushing more and more families out of the middle class; and
Whereas, in 2015, 38 percent of all U.S. renters were "rent burdened" meaning families
had to spend over 30% of their earnings on rent and the number of renters who are "severely rent
burdened" (spending 50 percent or more of their monthly income on rent) went up 42% between
2001 and 2015; and
Whereas, evidence-based research has shown that families with safe, decent, and
affordable homes are better able to find employment, achieve economic mobility, perform better
in school, and maintain improved health; and
Whereas, investing in affordable housing strengthens our economy, creates jobs, boosts
families' incomes, and encourages further development; and
Whereas, far too many families living in urban, suburban, and rural communities
struggle to afford their rent each month, putting them at increased risk of eviction and
homelessness;
Whereas, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
point-in-time count of 2016, there were 549,928 people in the United States experiencing
homelessness on any given night, including over 120,000 children; Whereas homelessness has
become so pervasive that some States and cities have declared that homelessness has reached a
state of emergency; and
Whereas, major progress towards the national goals for ending homelessness in our
Nation has stalled in the absence of increased funding; and
Whereas, a shortage of affordable housing exists in every State and major metropolitan
area; and
Resolution No. 18-9568
Whereas, a full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage cannot afford a modest
two-bedroom apartment in any State, metropolitan area, or county in the United States; Whereas
over half of all renters are cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income for
housing, and 71 percent of extremely low-income households are severely cost-burdened, paying
more than half of their income for housing; and
Whereas, rapidly rising rents across the country have pushed many long-time residents
and families out of the communities they call home; Whereas closed waiting lists and long waits
mean only a quarter of the families who qualify for housing assistance actually receive it; and
Whereas, the role of Federal affordable housing investments is even more important
given the limited ability of the private market alone to address these needs; and
Whereas, various programs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development help
to subsidize housing for more than 4,000,000 low-income families, including the Public Housing
program, the Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) program, the Section 8 Project-Based
Rental Assistance program, the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, the
Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program, and the Housing
Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program; and
Whereas, despite leveraging billions of dollars in private resources to preserve and
expand the supply of affordable housing, affordable housing programs continue to be chronically
underfunded despite their success at providing safe housing to families in need; and
Whereas, chronic underfunding of the Public Housing Capital Fund has led to a backlog
of more than $26,000,000,000 in capital repairs and deteriorating conditions for residents; and
Whereas, without Federal investments, many more families would be homeless, living in
substandard or overcrowded conditions, or struggling to meet other basic needs because too
much of their limited income would be used to pay rent; and
Whereas, low Federal spending caps required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (Public
Law 112-25) have decreased funding for affordable housing and community development
programs; and
Whereas, these austere spending caps threaten affordable housing and community
development for millions of low income families; and
Whereas, even renters with housing subsidies often face barriers to finding housing
providers willing to rent to them; and
Whereas, under current Federal law, housing discrimination against a renter is illegal if it
is based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability; and
Whereas, renters should be protected against housing discrimination through stronger
enforcement of fair housing laws; and
Resolution No. 18-9568
Whereas, despite various clarifying memos from HUD, the reentry community continues
to face barriers in trying to secure access to federally assisted housing.
NOW THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF OPA-LOCKA, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The foregoing Whereas clauses are hereby ratified and incorporated as the
legislative intent of this Resolution.
Section 2. The City Commission of the City of Opa-locka:
(1) supports lifting the spending caps required by the Budget Control Act
of 2011 and robustly funding programs to increase access to affordable
housing and address homelessness at the Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) and other Federal agencies;
(2) opposes any cuts to Federal investments in 10 affordable housing
programs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other
Federal 12 agencies;
(3) supports increased funding to the Public Housing Capital Fund to
address the backlog of capital repairs for public housing;
(4) supports expanded funding for the National Housing Trust Fund to
boost the supply of afford able housing available to extremely low-income
families;
(5) supports efforts to preserve and rehabilitate existing housing to
maintain and increase the available stock of affordable housing and
proposals by local entities to prevent any net loss of overall af12 fordable
housing units receiving Federal subsidies;
(6) supports strengthened Federal fair housing laws;
(7) affirms that renters may not be barred from federally assisted housing
solely on the basis of a criminal record;
(8) supports expansion of renters' rights, including the right of tenants to
organize tenant associations; and
(9) affirms that housing is a basic human right.
Section 3 The City Clerk is hereby directed to distribute this Resolution to Senator Bill
Nelson, the United States Congressional Delegations from Florida, the National League
of Cities, the Florida League of Cities, the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation,
Resolution No. 18-9568
and the Miami-Dade League of Cities.
Section 4. This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage.
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 24th DAY OCTOBER, 2018.
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Mayor
Attest to: Approved as to form and legal sufficiency:
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Joan Flores The Brown Law Group, LLC
City V lerk City Attorney
Moved by: COMMISSIONER RILEY
Seconded by: COMMISSIONER HOLMES
Commissioner Vote: 5-0
Commissioner Holmes: YES
Commissioner Riley: YES
Commissioner Pigatt: YES
Vice Mayor Kelley: YES
Mayor Taylor: YES