Landlord Rent Guarantee Insurance | Six lessons for the US as it rebuilds its struggling housing market
We will regularly inspect your property, to ensure it is well-maintained and that everything is as it should be, ready for when you do get a tenant again. We will also continue to advertise your property, to show it to prospective tenants and to keep you informed every step of the way. And you can relax knowing that all the while this property is empty, you are still guaranteed rent payments and are still receiving a monthly guaranteed rental income.
There are simple measures Congress can take to secure stable and affordable housing for ordinary Americans
Homes have been abandoned in Detroit in the wake of the US credit crunch. What can Congress do to revive America’s flagging housing market? Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters Landlord Rent Guarantee Insurance
Human communities are strongest when families are able to access decent shelter and work in their local neighbourhoods. Whichever country we live in and whatever our physical circumstances, our homes will always be the place that determines whether we – and our communities – thrive or become trapped in cycles of poverty.
Earlier this month, Habitat for Humanity presented a series of recommendations to the US Congress which is looking at the question of home ownership in a post-recession nation.
For the US, the expansion of homeownership from the 1940s until the turn of the century helped to fuel six decades of steady economic growth. Positive federal policy increased year on year the percentage of Americans owning their own homes – not just among the affluent, but all sections of society. Now that the housing bubble has burst, lead commentators question the wisdom of promoting low-income home ownership.
However, low-income families were not responsible for the recession and they should not bear the burden of the housing crisis. The crisis had far more to do with the loan products used than with the demographics of the borrowers. Homeownership remains one of the keys to community resiliency.
So the answer is a reassessment of the means by which low-income families can access housing. The benefits will be seen in personal economic recovery, national recovery and community stability.
For example, it is estimated that the construction of 100 new single family homes in America yields the equivalent of 324 full-time jobs and $21m in company and individual incomes, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the UK the Home Builders’ Federation makes more conservative estimates, at 308 full-time jobs per 100 homes.
The benefits of ensuring access to homeownership for low-income families are not limited to economic growth. An American scheme called Success Measures, funded by the Department for Housing and Urban Development and the Ford Foundation, identified a host of indicators of community wellbeing including home quality, wealth creation, stability, visual attractiveness, community use of public spaces, percentage of owner-occupied homes and neighbourhood security.
As housing policy is redefined, we make some clear recommendations to rebuild the US housing market – and the communities it serves:
• Preserve and reform the secondary mortgage market Landlord Rent Guarantee Insurance
Congress should implement government-sponsored housing enterprise reforms that ensure market stability and protect the interests of US taxpayers without limiting responsible access to mortgage financing.
• Preserve and build on what works
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Some models, such as the Federal Home Loan Banks, have remained stable throughout the recession. Congress should seek to enhance the government-sponsored housing enterprises’ commitment to responsible, affordable lending.
• Maintain a federal role in secondary markets
Future access to credit, particularly by low-income families, requires a permanent, carefully crafted federal role as insurer of last resort.
• Implement responsible mortgage regulatory framework
Dodd-Frank and other regulations must ensure that mortgage regulations anticipate successful approaches to low-income homeownership such as the sweat-equity model.
• Find new solutions
Support a range of housing tenures and types, reflecting the range of affordable housing needs in the US and support a balance between both affordable homeownership and rental opportunities.
• Address the question of affordability
Encourage long-term affordability, including shared equity approaches, land trusts, deed restrictions and subordinate mortgages. Encourage housing efficiency by investing in energy-efficient construction and mixed income developments that keep overall housing costs low.
These are important lessons for our American colleagues, but what might we learn from these recommendations at home? We’d like you to share your thoughts and ideas with us.
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