Housing
Safe and affordable housing is a fundamental human right. However, decades of redlining, rising income inequality, and predatory lending practices have left homeownership out of reach for working-class families and throughout minority communities. Homeownership has long been central to building generational wealth. Expanding access to affordable housing is critical to closing the racial wealth gap and upward mobility of all Americans. Our cities are unaffordable and our rural communities are rapidly becoming so, with people being forced out of their homes due to rising property taxes and gentrification. Initiatives should be passed that increase the availability of affordable rental units across the state. All city, county, and state elected officials should be working to ease the housing crisis.
Georgia Democrats Support:
- Remove restrictive zoning laws that prevent housing from being built in business and commercial zones. Encourage adaptive reuse policies by using current vacant state/city-owned property for housing development. Incentivize affordable housing and sustainable dense development on public and private blighted properties, through tax incentives, land use policies, and direct investment.
- Expand rental assistance, programs designed to support homeowners facing foreclosure, and affordable housing opportunities for all. Implement grants and low-interest rates for first-time homebuyers. Advocate for legal representation for low-income tenants in landlord disputes and eviction proceedings.
- Support for the unhoused and unsheltered with wraparound services that lead to more stable living environments. Strive to end homelessness among Veterans, the LGTBQ community, those with mental health needs, and all communities at higher risk of being unsheltered.
- Support policies that discourage unfair market speculation perpetrated by large corporations and manipulation of the market via surplus buying of single-family homes that hurts working-class people and children and families. Implementing regulations to restrict the conversion of residential properties into short-term rentals, ensuring that housing remains primarily available for long-term tenants and owner-occupants.
- Require all housing development projects receiving public funds to adhere to applicable code and quality standards, with union pay/safety standards being the desired goal. Prioritize high-density, transit-oriented developments. Provide subsidies for energy efficiency upgrades for low-income households, affordable housing units, and public housing units.