Author | Lightnews

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 17h

Client Voices: the RHLS 2025 Satisfaction Survey Report. We invite you to read the results of our latest survey!

RHLS 2025 Client Satisfaction Report: How We're Strengthening Pennsylvania's Affordable Housing Ecosystem - RHLS Website

Our clients are the heart of what we do. That’s why we’re thrilled to share the results of our 2025 Client Satisfaction survey.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 1d

Lawmakers are scrambling to protect federal workers from eviction as the government shutdown drags on.

Government shutdown puts federal workers at eviction risk

As the federal government shutdown continues, Massachusetts Senator Lydia Edwards has proposed a bill to protect federal employees from eviction and credit score impacts due to missed paychecks.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 4d

Please join us in welcoming our new Fellow, Blayne Cekine, to our staff!

RHLS Welcomes 2025 Dechert Fellow Blayne Cekine. - RHLS Website

RHLS is proud to welcome Blayne Cekine, Dechert Impact Fellow, to our staff.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 5d

Philadelphia renters know it, the rent is going up and up, and more and more residents of the city are cost-burdened. RHLS Board member Kadeem Morris of @clsphila.bluesky.social explains what his clients face in the city's tough and increasingly unaffordable rental market.

More Philly renters are ‘scraping by’ each month, saddled by low incomes and higher costs

Philly's median monthly rent increased from 2023 to 2024, while household incomes decreased, according to Census Bureau data. Renters are "cost burdened," spending more of their wages on housing.

buff.ly

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 6d

RHLS proudly partnered with the Community Strategies Group on the Bloom Heights, new affordable and supportive homes in Bloomsburg. Read more on our website:

Bloom Heights Apartments are coming soon! - RHLS Website

RHLS client Community Strategies Group (CSG) has deep ties to the Bloomsburg area and is the largest nonprofit affordable housing developer in the area. The Executive Director, Rich Kisner, once……

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 7d

New LIHTC awards mean new affordable homes in Pennsylvania!
We are thrilled that our clients have gotten tax credit awards from PHFA. Read more on our website: buff.ly/6cmRYcg

a man holds his child on his shoulders, arms upraised, standing in front of a house that is slightly out of focus and misty, implying having a home is a dream come true.

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 8d

The Right of First Refusal, allowing the tenant to buy their home before it goes on the market, has been a powerful tool to prevent displacement. More communities nationwide are lobbying for it; read more from Minneapolis.

COMMENTARY: Renters Deserve the Opportunity to Put Down Roots

This means that, on average, 1,143 units of affordable housing were preserved or created every year. Imagine how powerful that would be here.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 11d

What tools do psychologists have to uplift housing justice? Turns out, quite a few, read on:

How Psychology Can Help Build Housing Justice

Psychology reveals how housing insecurity harms minds and communities, and how empathy, storytelling, and collaboration can help build housing justice.

buff.ly

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 12d

Policy makers continue to dance around the issue at hand: there isn't enough affordable housing! Read this opinion piece from a Housing Justice Task Force in MN:

Safe streets require stable homes, not myths about homelessness

To the editor: State Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, in response to President Trump’s recent executive order on homelessness, argued: “Public safety should always be the priority. Over the last several

buff.ly

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 13d

Good news for the PA housing shortage, the tax credit allocations have been announced, which means new developments are coming.

Pennsylvania Awards $66M for Statewide LIHTC Initiative

The financing will support nearly 2,000 affordable units.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 14d

At a time of record-high rents and growing homelessness, housing programs are threatened by budget cuts because the current administration does not agree with the housing-first model. Read more from Berks County.

Berks County faces record homelessness, federal funding for housing threatened

This story was produced by the Berks County Bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlight…

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 15d

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day

a statue of an indigenous man from Mexico wearing an impressive headdress in front of Spanish-style stone buildings with wrought iron balconies

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 18d

Did you know? RHLS published a tenant's rights manual for those living in affordable tax-credit homes. It's full of helpful info for tenants. We also made a video to explain it. Check it out today!

Renting a LIHTC Apartment: What Tenants and Their Advocates Need to Know.

RHLS has published a guide for tenants living in low income tax credit apartments. We invite you to listen to our presentation on this guide.

buff.ly

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 19d

Seniors face particular peril when there is a lack of affordable housing. Read more:

Affordable Housing Is Getting Scarce for Older Adults

Despite over 2 million older adults receiving federal rental assistance, only about one in three older adults who need federal rental assistance receive...

buff.ly

1 2

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 20d

We cannot say this often enough! "Pennsylvania doesn't have enough houses"!

Pennsylvania facing housing shortage

Pennsylvania is facing a drastic housing shortage, forcing people to scramble to rent and struggle to find any avenue to homeownership. State and local officials say they are working to meet the…

buff.ly

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 21d

How will the current government shut down affect housing?

How the government shutdown impacts local housing assistance programs

Housing authorities have reserve funds, and are expected to receive payments from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 22d

Mayor Parker wants to exempt developers of affordable housing from the 1% developer's fee. What do you think? buff.ly/aVtci81

To ease Philly's housing crunch, Mayor Parker wants a tax exemption for developers building affordable rentals

The measure, now moving through Philadelphia City Council, would exclude certain subsidized rental developments.

buff.ly

1 1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 25d

Take a moment to check out the NLIHC's 2024 annual report, including key research and reports from last year.

Now Available: 2024 Annual Report

NLIHC’s Annual Report provides a comprehensive picture of NLIHC’s advocacy activities, campaigns, research and publications, and other achievements in 2024.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 26d

Low-income tenants are vulnerable to dangerous housing, but by uniting and demanding their rights, conditions improve:

Don’t lock renters out of affordable housing policy

While new initiatives at the state and local levels offer relief for owners and landlords, renters in Pennsylvania could be left out in the cold without proper safeguards.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 26d

I know, I hate that, too! I want to roll down my window and tell them to slow down

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 27d

Kensington residents worry that the Mayor's focus on building new housing will shift the focus away from the many tough issues the neighborhood faces.

What the mayor’s new affordable housing plan could mean for Kensington – Metro Philadelphia

Mayor Cherelle Parker’s sweeping $2 billion housing plan was approved in June alongside the city’s $6.8 billion budget.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 28d

Grim news from HUD

Trump Appointees Roll Back Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws (Gift Article)

Interviews and internal documents show that signature civil rights protections in housing are being dismissed as ideologically driven and D.E.I. in disguise.

buff.ly

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · 29d

Over a year ago, RHLS embarked on a big project: creating a 5-year strategic plan to bring us into the future and an effort to make our brand more accessible. The results are in, and we can't wait to share them with you!
Visit: www.rhls.org
Read our 2025-2030 Strategic Plan: buff.ly/NelywAD

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · Sep 26

I bet you're right!

1

Regional Housing Legal Services @rhlspa.bsky.social · Sep 26

The housing crisis impacts everyone. Read this opinion piece that pushes back on arguments against a social support net to make the case that we all deserve safe and stable homes.

Op-Ed: ‘Safe, stable housing is a human right’

<p>I am writing to bring attention to the housing crisis devastating communities across our state. Far too many of us have experienced homelessness, faced eviction, or watched our family and friends…

buff.ly