The Alliance for Housing Justice is a coalition of left-of-center nonprofit organizations that seek to have housing recognized as a right to ensure government provision of housing. It is a project of Public Advocates, a left-progressive public-interest law firm,¹ and supports other similar initiatives like Our Homes, Our Health² and We Strike Together. ³ Members of the coalition include Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, PolicyLink, Poverty and Race Research Action Council, and the radical-left-influenced Right to the City Alliance. ⁴

In March 2020, AHJ released the Housing Justice National Platform demanding government-provided housing, rent control, federal housing subsidies, protection from evictions, reparations for allegedly racist housing and land policies, government ownership of land and houses, and a socialist Green New Deal for Housing. ⁵

AHJ has been vocal in its opposition to proposed changes that would affect the Fair Housing Act. The group strongly opposed the Trump administration Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed rollback of the Obama administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule in 2020, which AHJ claims would increase discriminatory housing policies,⁶ and the Trump administration’s proposal to change the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard in 2019. ⁷

Activity

The Alliance for Housing Justice is a coalition of left-of-center nonprofit organizations that includes Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, PolicyLink, Poverty and Race Research Action Council, and the radical-left-influenced Right to the City Alliance. The Alliance advocates for policies to have housing recognized as a human right, guaranteed to all people. It is a project of Public Advocates, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm. ⁸

AHJ supports other left-wing collaborative initiatives on housing policy, like Our Homes, Our Health, which currently advocates for rent strikes and eviction moratoriums,⁹ and We Strike Together, which advocates for and supports rent strikes across the country. ¹⁰ We Strike Together was created by the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), and is supported by other organizations like Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Housing Justice for All, Bargaining for the Common Good, the Center for Popular Democracy, Jobs with Justice, Partnership for Working Families, and People’s Action. ¹¹

In March 2020, AHJ organized a meeting of left-progressive and radical-left advocacy groups and organizers at which it released the Housing Justice National Platform. ¹² Supported by more that 100 organizations, the Platform demands government-provided housing, rent control, federal housing subsidies, protection from evictions, reparations for supposedly racist housing and land policies, government ownership of land and houses, and a Green New Deal for Housing. ¹³ A copy of the Platform was given directly to Secretary Ben Carson’s office at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). ¹⁴

In 2020, in response to Covid-19, AHJ garnered the support of 25 organizations to demand protections for the homeless. The Alliance also demanded that of Congress support a moratorium on evictions, a national rent holiday, and a Housing Security Fund in the sum of $200 billion. ¹⁵

In January 2020, AHJ expressed its opposition of HUD’s proposed rollback of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), claiming that doing so will increase discriminatory housing policies. ¹⁶

In 2019, AHJ opposed the Trump administration’s proposal to change the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard. The Alliance produced and shared a video expressing its disapproval. ¹⁷

1. “Alliance for Housing Justice.” Public Advocates, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.publicadvocates.org/ahj/.
2. “Home.” Ours Homes, Our Health, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://ourhomesourhealth.org/.
3. “About.” We Strike Together, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://westriketogether.org/about/.
4. “Alliance for Housing Justice.” Public Advocates, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.publicadvocates.org/ahj/.
5. “Housing Justice National Platform for a Homes Guarantee.” Accessed June 27, 2020. https://cb52b723-1431-4f7c-ac8d-8b4c7422a600.filesusr.com/ugd/19c39f_2b2f417a78f54f068e92292b48f16383.pdf.
6. “HUD’s Proposed AFFH Rule: AHJ’s Response.” Alliance for Housing Justice, January 9, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.allianceforhousingjustice.org/post/statement-on-proposed-affh-rule.
7. “Metropolitan Equity, April 2020 Update.” Public Advocates, April 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.publicadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/metropolitan-equity-update-april_2020-final.pdf.
8. “Alliance for Housing Justice.” Public Advocates, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.publicadvocates.org/ahj/.
9. “Home.” Ours Homes, Our Health, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://ourhomesourhealth.org/.
10. “About.” We Strike Together, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://westriketogether.org/about/.
11. Jarrin-Thomas, Sofia. “Rent Strikes Grow across the US.” Nonprofit Quarterly, May 6, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/rent-strikes-grow-across-the-us/.
12. “Metropolitan Equity, April 2020 Update.” Public Advocates, April 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.publicadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/metropolitan-equity-update-april_2020-final.pdf.
13. “Housing Justice National Platform for a Homes Guarantee.” Accessed June 27, 2020. https://cb52b723-1431-4f7c-ac8d-8b4c7422a600.filesusr.com/ugd/19c39f_2b2f417a78f54f068e92292b48f16383.pdf.
14. Ross, Tracey. “The Growing Movement For Housing Justice.” Essence, March 16, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.essence.com/news/housing-justice/.
15. “Metropolitan Equity, April 2020 Update.” Public Advocates, April 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.publicadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/metropolitan-equity-update-april_2020-final.pdf.
16. “HUD’s Proposed AFFH Rule: AHJ’s Response.” Alliance for Housing Justice, January 9, 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.allianceforhousingjustice.org/post/statement-on-proposed-affh-rule.
17. “Metropolitan Equity, April 2020 Update.” Public Advocates, April 2020. Accessed June 27, 2020. https://www.publicadvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/metropolitan-equity-update-april_2020-final.pdf.