The Center for Housing Policy’s housingpolicy.org recognizes that new legislation is necessary to help former homeowners return to renting after they’ve been foreclosed upon. High security deposits and the loss in credit rating can make the transition back to the rental market a difficult one. The organization outlines a number of recommendations as well as proposed ideas from the Progressive Policy Institute for people moving on after a foreclosure. The suggestions are as follows:
“Adopt a first-time homebuyer tax credit (similar to the District of Columbia’s first time homebuyer tax credit) in jurisdictions with high foreclosure rates and extend eligibility to those that have lost their home to foreclosure in addition to first-time homebuyers.”
“Create a preference for housing vouchers to go to families at risk of losing their home or who have already been foreclosed upon.”
“Provide funding for land banks to buy foreclosed properties and rent them back to the former homeowners.”
“Provide funds for credit repair counseling.”
“Provide assistance with first- and last-month’s rent, security deposits, and the housing search process.”
If you’re interested in bringing this information to your lawmakers’ attentions, please share or email this blog post with friends. Let’s do what we can to help people in their time of need.
