Embrace the Suck: Why States and Localities Should Use Property Rights to Fix Broken Housing Voucher Programs is a wonderful academic contribution that moves fluidly from high theory to more grounded, practical questions. By combining detailed discussion of how housing vouchers work in practice with insights gleaned from more progressive property scholarship, Professor Elizabeth Elia’s article succeeds in speaking across the practical/theoretical divide.
Those whose work focuses on subsidized housing should read the article. And, it also should interest those who focus on broader theory because it stands as an example of how theory can open up the range of policy alternatives.
The problem the article seeks to address is the inability of one-third of voucher recipients to place their vouchers—i.e. to find a landlord willing to rent to them through the program—within the limited time they have to find such a placement.
As Professor Elia highlights, landlords in the poorest areas often welcome voucher holders because of the stability associated with vouchers and the possibility of up-charging for their units. In other areas, landlords often discriminate against voucher holders. It can be hard for voucher holders to place their vouchers for a variety of reasons, including because landlords do not want to comply with the voucher program’s requirements, such as a housing inspection, or for other reasons.
In response to these hardships, an increasing number of states and localities are passing laws banning source of income discrimination (SOID). Such legislation requires landlords treat voucher holders who are able to afford a unit with the voucher the same as other perspective tenants. The heart of Professor Elia’s article is her coverage of the nature of SOID laws, their limited reach, and the success landlords have had challenging these laws.
The article abounds in details which housing scholars will relish. Most SOID laws are packaged in terms of human rights. Landlord backlash to SOID laws are leading states to pass legislation prohibiting such protections and courts have created loopholes that allow landlords to discriminate without running afoul of SOID laws. Professor Elia’s coverage of empirical studies looking at voucher discrimination, even in jurisdictions with SOID laws, makes it clear that such legislation is hardly a panacea.
The article transitions at the end to an exploration of how vouchers might be enhanced so that they would be more attractive to landlords and, as a result, would be easier for tenants to place. Drawing upon some broad ideas and themes advanced by progressive property scholars, Professor Elia argues that state and local governments should provide landlords renting out units to voucher holders with additional rights as a way to incentivize their participation in the program.
As the article highlights, through programs that tie subsidy level to rental rates within a small area or by decreasing program costs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is already making efforts to increase the value of vouchers. Professor Elia’s contribution is to highlight ways that states and localities might piggyback on such efforts by associating additional property rights—including tax and permitting advantages—with vouchers.
By moving from what is (an acknowledgement that SOID laws are helpful but will not solve the placement problem) to what if (suppose local governments added property rights to the rights already provided by federal housing vouchers), Professor Elia shows how progressive property theory can broaden the range of possible policy solutions. Even with all the limitations and challenges involved in the current housing voucher subsidy regime, local governments can open up more of the market and more of the city to voucher holders by thinking of vouchers as a property right that can be tweaked.
Whether you are a property person, a poverty law person, or just someone looking for a well-written and somewhat optimistic approach to a longstanding policy problem, Professor Elia’s article is worth reading.
