Rashida Tlaib revives $5B bill to improve neighborhoods struggling with abandonment
The Restoring Communities Left Behind Act would help rebuild places like Detroit
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Steve Neavling
More than 33,000 houses in Detroit are likely in need of major repairs, according to a 2021 University of Michigan study.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib reintroduced a bill Tuesday that would provide $5 billion in housing grants over the next decade to help rebuild struggling neighborhoods like the ones in Detroit and Highland Park.
The Detroit Democrat first introduced the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act in February 2021. Since then, the bill has not advanced.
The legislation, also introduced by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio., would fund neighborhood revitalization activities such as homeowner rehabilitation assistance, weatherization, improved housing accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities, housing counseling, refinancing, and property tax relief.
Communities like Detroit have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the foreclosure crisis, and systemic racism, causing neighborhoods to deteriorate.
“In the communities I represent, the rate of homeownership among our families continues to decline as the cost of housing continues to skyrocket,” Tlaib said in a statement Tuesday. “This is happening while countless housing units remain vacant and in disrepair with no real programs helping change it. With the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act, we have an urgent and unique opportunity to help our communities increase homeownership with home repair grants, counseling, and neighborhood revitalization. We must save homes, provide resources, and increase housing options for our neighbors.”
Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would establish the program and provide competitive grants to local partnerships.
Some of the funds would be used to purchase and renovate vacant, abandoned, and blighted properties and turn them into affordable housing. The money also would improve parks, sidewalks, street lighting, and other neighborhood resources.
The original bill is supported by National Community Stabilization Trust, Center for Community Progress, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Grounded Solutions Network, Habitat for Humanity, Detroit People’s Platform, Bridging Communities, the United Community Housing Coalition, and National Community Action Foundation.
Many of the same groups are speaking out in support of the reintroduced bill.
“Habitat for Humanity applauds Representatives Kaptur and Tlaib for re-introducing The Restoring Communities Left Behind Act, which will help address the historic lows in affordable housing supply,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “Far too many communities across the country have been left behind. The devastating impact of distressed economies, high poverty rates, and concentrations of abandoned properties and deteriorating homes, keeps many communities locked into a downward spiral they cannot easily climb out of without concerted intervention and assistance.”
Tens of thousands of abandoned houses are scattered across Detroit, driving down property values and spurring an exodus of residents.
Many of the occupied homes are in poor shape. A University of Michigan study last year found that an increasing number of Detroiters are living in substandard houses with moderate to serious maintenance problems, and the rate is highest among Black households, according to a new University of Michigan report.
“Too many communities in Michigan’s 12th district and across the country were hollowed out by the Great Recession and hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this legislation would reverse generational disinvestment with targeted federal funding for the local partnerships that are serving our neighbors on the ground,” Tlaib said. “I could not have asked for a better partner than Rep. Kaptur in leading this legislation—let’s restore unused housing stock to livable condition, open the door to homeownership to those who have been locked out, and revitalize these communities that have been left behind.”
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