Regional Housing Legal Services
@rhlspa.bsky.social
A nonprofit law firm with unique expertise in affordable, sustainable housing and its related components (reposts do not indicate endorsement).
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Houses above a library? This trend of combining housing with commercial spaces has just had its best idea ever!
Writing a new chapter, Boston stacks homes above libraries
For many people, it sounds like a dream: Living above a library. A number of major U.S. cities are experimenting with such mixed-use buildings as a way to add affordable housing – and cultivate…
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January 5, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Houses above a library? This trend of combining housing with commercial spaces has just had its best idea ever!
#ICYMI Check out our story about Bloom Heights on our website, new housing in northeast PA:
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……
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January 2, 2026 at 5:03 PM
#ICYMI Check out our story about Bloom Heights on our website, new housing in northeast PA:
Santa Fe has long had a living wage ordinance, but it will update this by tying the minimum wage to housing prices, meaning workers will get a raise in 2027. What do you think? Is this a good model to follow?
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December 31, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Santa Fe has long had a living wage ordinance, but it will update this by tying the minimum wage to housing prices, meaning workers will get a raise in 2027. What do you think? Is this a good model to follow?
What can we do differently in the criminal justice system? A story from Indianapolis
The Prosecutor Who Is Housing People
In Indianapolis, a prosecutor's office treats the housing crisis as a public safety issue by connecting eligible offenders to support.
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December 30, 2025 at 5:03 PM
What can we do differently in the criminal justice system? A story from Indianapolis
#ICYMI Read about the Depaul House on our website:
Housing as Healing: Vincent’s Homes and Depaul USA team up in Philadelphia. - RHLS Website
Housing as Healing: Vincent’s Homes and Depaul USA team up in Philadelphia.
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December 29, 2025 at 5:02 PM
#ICYMI Read about the Depaul House on our website:
Habitability in our aging housing stock becomes more of an issue each year.
Why Does Habitability Matter? Health and Our Housing Stock
Housing problems like inadequate heating, water damage, and mold can mess with your health. It's also making the U.S. housing crisis worse.
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December 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Habitability in our aging housing stock becomes more of an issue each year.
Have a peaceful holiday season.
December 25, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Have a peaceful holiday season.
A 3D-printed home is being built in Centre County, advocates say it will be constructed more efficiently and cost-effectively. What do you think? Would you live in a 3-D printed house?
Nonprofit celebrates major milestone after building 3D-printed home: 'Today is a monumental day'
Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, will be gaining its first 3D-printed home, a project resulting from a partnership among several organizations.
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December 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
A 3D-printed home is being built in Centre County, advocates say it will be constructed more efficiently and cost-effectively. What do you think? Would you live in a 3-D printed house?
Hostile architecture is everywhere, and its only purpose is to exclude unwanted elements, i.e., the homeless. People who aren't affected by it don't notice it.
If Toronto is a city that cares, it needs to stop building against its people
How Toronto makes itself unlivable
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December 23, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Hostile architecture is everywhere, and its only purpose is to exclude unwanted elements, i.e., the homeless. People who aren't affected by it don't notice it.
Check out the RHLS winter newsletter!
❄️ Chill Out: Winter 2025 News & Updates
A Policy Toolkit to Confront the Financialization of Pennsylvania’s Homes
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December 22, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Check out the RHLS winter newsletter!
"The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) released a report examining housing discrimination in 2024, ....with a record number of housing discrimination complaints, in an environment where the Trump ...has taken dramatic actions to undercut fair housing funding."
National Fair Housing Alliance Releases 2025 Fair Housing Trends Report; Take Action to Defend Fair Housing Now!
By Kayla Blackwell, NLIHC Senior Housing Policy Analyst and Sarita Kelkar, NLIHC Policy Intern
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December 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
"The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) released a report examining housing discrimination in 2024, ....with a record number of housing discrimination complaints, in an environment where the Trump ...has taken dramatic actions to undercut fair housing funding."
Mayor Parker's big HOME initiative will not reach the poorest and most vulnerable city residents, advocates warn:
Advocates aren’t sure about impact of Philly’s $2B housing plan
Critics argue that Mayor Parker’s H.O.M.E. initiative doesn’t focus enough on the city’s lowest-income renters and homeowners, including older adults.
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December 18, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Mayor Parker's big HOME initiative will not reach the poorest and most vulnerable city residents, advocates warn:
Opinion: philanthropy does not engage enough in the housing justice space, it could do more:
Building a better foundation: How philanthropy can advance housing justice - Alliance magazine
The housing crisis is a key driver of today’s global challenges. It is a top voter issue in national elections from the US, to Ireland, to Kenya, as people grow increasingly frustrated with the…
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December 17, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Opinion: philanthropy does not engage enough in the housing justice space, it could do more:
Homeowners insurance is making the affordable housing crisis worse.
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December 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Homeowners insurance is making the affordable housing crisis worse.
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As ICE agents fan out to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, their enforcement actions are creating unease among workers on building sites across the U.S., deepening the already severe labor shortage, slowing the pace of construction and driving up costs. buff.ly/leAGgzY
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December 12, 2025 at 5:02 PM
As ICE agents fan out to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, their enforcement actions are creating unease among workers on building sites across the U.S., deepening the already severe labor shortage, slowing the pace of construction and driving up costs. buff.ly/leAGgzY
RHLS Board member, Fred Bañuelos, spoke out against corporate ownership of affordable housing and pushed for solutions to the housing crisis. The rising price of housing is particularly dramatic in the Lehigh Valley, and corporate home purchases are hurting communities.
Panelists call for regional buy-in, ‘bold’ solutions to curb Lehigh Valley housing crisis
Rabbi Shoshanah Tornberg opened a discussion Sunday by noting many Allentown residents are “one missed paycheck” from being forced to experience homelessness. She called the housing crisis “a…
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December 11, 2025 at 5:01 PM
RHLS Board member, Fred Bañuelos, spoke out against corporate ownership of affordable housing and pushed for solutions to the housing crisis. The rising price of housing is particularly dramatic in the Lehigh Valley, and corporate home purchases are hurting communities.
More than a year in, the "500 in 500" housing initiative is working! More than 600 people have found affordable housing in Pittsburgh so far. Read more about it on our website:
500 in 500: Collaboration in Action. - RHLS Website
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December 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
More than a year in, the "500 in 500" housing initiative is working! More than 600 people have found affordable housing in Pittsburgh so far. Read more about it on our website:
RHLS ED Dina Schlossberg and Senior Staff Attorney Kelly Prokop were happy to attend the grand opening of Mosaic Apartments in Pittsburgh. We worked on this housing development that is an inclusive and supportive space for seniors in the LGBTQ+ community.
Pittsburgh's first affordable housing complex for LGBTQ+ seniors opens
Dennis Downey moved this month for the seventh time in his life. But it wasn’t until this go-around that the longtime Pittsburgh resident felt excited...
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December 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
RHLS ED Dina Schlossberg and Senior Staff Attorney Kelly Prokop were happy to attend the grand opening of Mosaic Apartments in Pittsburgh. We worked on this housing development that is an inclusive and supportive space for seniors in the LGBTQ+ community.
Interesting case study on housing justice from Missouri, a model that relies on connection and advocacy, read on:
Building Consensus, Building Homes: Kansas City’s Approach to Housing Justice
Mayor Quinton Lucas realizes housing as a human right; building new housing in Kansas City is an essential strategy for protecting residents by creating tangible opportunities for dignity and…
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December 5, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Interesting case study on housing justice from Missouri, a model that relies on connection and advocacy, read on:
RHLS has updated the Low Income Housing Tax Credit tenant manual. Full of important and interesting information on rent calculation, special rights and protections and more. Go to our website and download the guide in English and Spanish:
LIHTC Tenant's Guide - RHLS Website
If you live in a LIHTC funded home, rent is not based on the income of the tenant, but on a percentage of the area median income for your county. Property managers of LIHTC-funded housing may use…
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December 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
RHLS has updated the Low Income Housing Tax Credit tenant manual. Full of important and interesting information on rent calculation, special rights and protections and more. Go to our website and download the guide in English and Spanish:
The interesting thing about eviction filings is that they are often clustered in a building or landlord. Would advocacy with bad actors help resolve the over-reliance on eviction filing?
Three Lawyers File More Than Half of Central Oklahoma's 18,000 Annual Eviction Cases - Oklahoma Watch
Three lawyers file about half of Oklahoma County’s 18,000 annual eviction cases, a simple but lucrative practice worth hundreds of thousands per year.
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December 1, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The interesting thing about eviction filings is that they are often clustered in a building or landlord. Would advocacy with bad actors help resolve the over-reliance on eviction filing?
Should the government stand back and let private business build housing? Or should it participate intentionally? Lessons from Washington, DC:
To Create Abundant Housing, Ignore the YIMBY Playbook
Washington DC is building more homes per capita than Houston—not with bottom-up zoning reform but with top-down government action.
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November 28, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Should the government stand back and let private business build housing? Or should it participate intentionally? Lessons from Washington, DC:
Lessons from South Carolina: eviction diversion programs are vital for tenants who would otherwise have a black mark on their rental history.
In South Carolina, evictions are the ‘scarlet E’ that never go away
North Charleston had the highest eviction rate in the country in 2016. Charleston County has taken steps to address the issue with a housing court program.
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November 26, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Lessons from South Carolina: eviction diversion programs are vital for tenants who would otherwise have a black mark on their rental history.