By Ryan Coleman,
randallstownnaacp@gmail.com
Our county is in the midst of a worsening affordable housing crisis. Baltimore County renters are now paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent—the highest cost-burden level in at least 20 years.
Over the last three years, single-family home prices have skyrocketed by 40 percent—reaching historic highs and pushing the dream of homeownership further out of reach for thousands of families in Baltimore County. With households increasingly unable to keep up with rising housing costs, the risk of evictions and foreclosures threatens to push more families into homelessness.
The undersupply of fair and affordable housing is a primary driver of these increasing housing costs which are, in turn, playing a major role in driving up overall inflation. All of this disproportionately impacts communities of color, who have been at the mercy of predatory lending and other long-standing systems that reinforce and perpetuate racial inequities.
Everyone has their own definition of affordable housing, based on their own personal experience looking for a home, their politics, or terms that affordable housing developers actually use. Affordable housing is for all—from poor to rich. Do not be scared of different people and traditions. Do not let racism and bias stop you from supporting affordable housing.
Many people seem to agree that Baltimore County needs more of it. Whether in national polls, Maryland polls, or in our Baltimore County poll, people say it’s too expensive to buy or rent a home, there aren’t enough choices, and they support policies that would create more homes— full stop.
The problem is that our housing system sees housing first as an investment, putting it ahead of the idea that a home is a place to live. Developers— who are the ones that build the housing—aren’t trying to house people. They are trying to make money. And when they need to make a profit, they either have to cut production costs or charge more for the finished product. Or both. We need our housing system to be better community partners to stamp out the housing crisis.
If private development won’t solve the housing crisis, who will? We have to look to the Baltimore County Council, our elective officials and social housing. The Baltimore County Council must push legislation that would address Baltimore County’s affordable housing crisis, chronic undersupply of housing, cap rental rates, stop evictions and bolster an equitable economy. The Baltimore County Council can take the following actions by passing legislation that :
1. Accelerates affordable housing construction
2. Connects the Masterplan, Zoning and Smart Growth goals to ensure quality and affordable housing
3. Encourages mixed use development throughout Baltimore County and not just in black areas
4. Creates a tax abatement to support affordable housing
5. Negotiates agreements with rental property owners to lower rent rates
6. Caps rental rate increases
7. Starts the “social housing” concept
The social housing is not a new concept. It has been practiced in various places throughout the world for over a century. And it is catching on in the U.S. as well. Seattle recently passed a social housing ballot initiative. California recently passed social housing legislation. Montgomery County, Maryland has a public developer for social housing. Other cities and states are trying to make social housing a reality.
Social housing is a public option for housing. It is permanently and deeply affordable, under community control, and most importantly, exists outside of the speculative real estate market.
Social housing can exist in different forms. It can be owned by public entities, residents or mission-driven nonprofits and occupied by renters or homeowners. It includes public housing, community land trusts, new construction, existing affordable housing, and conversion of current market-rate housing, and should meet the scale of the housing crisis.
The time is now to be bold, challenge paradigms, and shift the systemic racism in our housing systems. Existing solutions to the current crisis will not suffice. We must challenge the status quo and shift the power and focus of capital to provide safe, quality, and affordable housing.
We must demand change from our leaders. County Executive Johnny Olszewski and Gov. Moore’s housing bills began to address the housing issues in Baltimore County. We can’t just continue to oppose these bills, but work with them to craft an even better bill. We must ask all our elected officials what is your solution. We must hold them accountable for their actions or inactions surrounding the housing crisis in Baltimore County. This should guide your decision on whom to vote for at the next election.