As of January 1, 2024, local governments in California may no longer pursue crime free neighborhood policies that turn upon laws triggering evictions from public housing.
HUD (The U.S. Department of Housing and Development) first implemented a One Strike and you’re out policy for public housing tenants in 1996. It has become a tragic destroyer of low income lives ever since, and continues to be so across much of the country.
HUD officially reversed its enthusiasm for One Strike and you’re out policies in 2016 when it issued guidance to local housing authorities to remind them about the Fair Housing Act. The Act covers any treatment that affects housing access for people who are Black, Indigenous or people of colour in comparison with white people. Local housing authorities were expected to follow the guidance.
Now California has decided to change its rules.
Why did the California legislature approve this bill? Its author, Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, described one social objective in the Los Angeles Times:
“We want to make sure we keep Black and brown people in their homes and that (crime-free housing rules) are not used as an excuse for gentrification”
As important or more so, there follow a number of other reasons why America should adapt this legislation for national use. Read more from the RAND CORPORATION: California Just Banned ‘Crime-Free’ Housing. Here’s Why Other States Should Too
