Affordable homes, climate investments, and good jobs don't have to be pitted against each other. In fact, in NYC @mayor.nyc.gov has a a huge opportunity to advance all three together, and local examples to build off.
Me and @batul.bsky.social wrote how in @jacobinmagazin.bsky.social
A deeply underreported story. I know so many people struggling to pay their electric bills
This is why I don't agree that climate has taken a backseat. Utility bills are equity issues _but they are also_ climate issues.
I have a new piece out today in Phenomenal World, on the economics of a freeze in NYC regulated rents. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...
Thank you for reading!
The hallways of apartment buildings have become a new front in the climate fight. Read more in my new piece w/ @taraghuveer.bsky.social in @forgeorganizing.bsky.social
forgeorganizing.org/article/as-c...
It is high time for housing policymakers, researchers, and advocates to take seriously the role of increasing financial distress in the multifamily market. We need to craft solutions to both limit distress and most importantly: ensure tenants do not shoulder the burden when and where it does occur.
How are landlords responding?
1. The “extend and pretend” approach (where landlords and lenders reach agreements to delay loan refinancing or specific payments until financial conditions appear more favorable)
2. Increasing net operating income by raising rents and fees or cutting back on expenses
4. The climate crisis, one of the core causes of high insurance costs, worsening building conditions, and disruptions of supply chains. All while making resilient high-quality housing an even more urgent need.
More on this on our Substack: climatecommunityinstitute.substack.com/p/financial-...
Chart from Federal Reserve on rising insurance costs in multifamily market
2. Operating expenses: Risen rapidly, forcing LLs to spend more money to keep properties afloat. Multifamily operating expenses rose 28% from '23-24. Insurance is a core driver.
3. Political instability: the prospect of changes like HUD funding cuts or GSE privatization could also drive distress.
Historically low interest rates during COVID meant landlords refinanced or acquired new property. Now as loans come due rates are much higher, dampening speculation and refinance projections. It's a considerable share: In 2025, $300B in multifam mortgages matured, almost 15% of all multifamily debt.
Speculative bets on rising property values means landlords operate on thin margins. They have little wiggle room if operations become more expensive or property values fail to rise at the rate they project. This is where financial distress kicks in.
But what's driving this distress?
In our financialized housing system, landlords rely on large loans to acquire properties, raise revenue and decrease expenses to indicate an increase in property value, and then refinance their properties for a profit.
This research started by analyzing loan data on properties where tenants experienced deferred maintenance and fee hikes. In the data, debt service coverage ratios were on razor thin margins. Landlords were in trouble. Tenants were getting squeezed.
Turns out, this is a widespread trend.
New research out today with my colleague Jacob Udell on financial distress in the multifamily market. We focus on the impact on tenants, who have little say over their landlords’ financial decisions but bear the brunt of the consequences of this escalating crisis.
Check it out!
This is far worse than anyone expected.
Trump's HUD plan would cut *two-thirds* of permanent housing and push as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people back onto the street—redirecting funds to work mandates, forced treatment, and encampment sweeps.
All as mass internment camps are being built.
Think federal government housing aid is focused on low-income families & largely funded by the Department of Housing & Urban Development?
Think again.
In new work @urbaninstitute.bsky.social, we provide a comprehensive account of the US government's many housing supports, which go far beyond HUD 🏘️
As insurance prices balloon & companies refuse renewals, state “insurers of last resort” (FAIR plans) are often the only coverage option left for many homeowners. Our new report explains how they often prioritize cost savings for companies, not affordability for families.
Check out @cplusc.bsky.social ’s new research on insurers of last resort and follow the brilliant @ipenaranda.bsky.social for more!
In the last six weeks, the Tenant Union Federation launched seven (7) majority tenant unions, across five (5) states, representing 1000 units of housing owned by Capital Realty Group, a New York-based corporate landlord. The first portfolio organizing of its kind...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Excellent read by @rebeccaburns.bsky.social , from the history of union pension investments to the growing number of union members “calling for investment in social goods, like green energy and affordable housing.”
Applications are due next Sunday October 5th for the @cplusc.bsky.social Housing Policy Manager role, spread the word!
🥹❤️🔥
Many American politicians are learning from Vienna, which is combatting housing scarcity+climate change-- all at the same time.
This group from Portland is another example.
To go on a podcast jaunt and read more about Vienna's green social housing, check out our feature from June on @npr.org 📻🎧🌍
.@cplusc.bsky.social is hiring! We're looking for a Housing & Communities Policy Manager who brings expertise in greening the housing stock and industrial policy for climate-safe homes. Lots more info on the webpage, but we're 100% remote and treat our people well. Apply by October 5!
EXTRACTION is hitting the road this fall. Thrilled to be in conversation with @dharna.bsky.social @bentarnoff.com @dwallacewells.bsky.social @earthworks.bsky.social and others.
Stay tuned for more events in the winter and spring! @wwnorton.com
‼️ Join my team ‼️ @cplusc.bsky.social is hiring a Housing Policy Manager to help advance progressive housing and climate solutions alongside some of the best tenant unions, labor unions, policymakers, and researchers in the field.
Apply here by Oct 5! climateandcommunity.org/careers/
The idea that insurance premiums are a good way to mitigate climate risk to housing is a common misconception that, unfortunately, can obscure real solutions to the risks of climate change and perpetuate existing inequities.
Why is that? Well...
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Tenant organizers have been saysing for a long while that most homeowners should cast their lot with renters, for this reason.
The climate crisis is a catastrophe we cannot afford to ignore, means-test, or isolate as an “add-on” to other problems. Workers and tenants across the country understand that, and are advancing green economic populism at home and at work.
So fun to get to dig into it w/ @batul.bsky.social.
