South Carolina Appleseed
South Carolina Appleseed’s SC Tenant Voices project seeks to share experiences of those impacted by evictions, poor conditions, and other issues exacerbating the housing crisis in South Carolina and provide resources about housing realities in the state. Additionally, the SC Housing Stories project collects stories from advocates and community members and discusses the need for housing investments in the state. Stories show how deliberate policies impact real people, and they have the power to influence advocates and lawmakers to change the status quo.
South Carolina Appleseed is a member of the City of Columbia’s Affordable Housing Task Force and additionally receives funding from SC United Way to help tenants through contracts with private attorneys and policy work.
South Carolina Appleseed has published several guides on housing for tenants and compiled even more from other organizations. See the full list of resources here.
2023
- Shared stories as part of their SC Tenant Voices project:
2022
- Interviewed community leaders and advocates for their SC Housing Stories series:
- Filed a lawsuit alongside The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP, and Venable LLP against the Georgetown, SC County Council for housing discrimination by preventing the construction of an affordable housing community. Read the NAACP’s press release here.
- Researching the impact of serial eviction filings on Black renters and pursuing litigation attacking the use of eviction filings as a rent collection tool.
- Worked with House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s office to help pass legislation and $20 million in funding for eviction representation in high eviction states as part of the 2023 fiscal year minibus appropriations bill passed in July 2022. The legislation is based on a bill proposed by Representative Clyburn and Colorado Senator Michael Bennet in 2020.
2020
Texas Appleseed
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
- Filed a HUD fair housing complaint alongside East and North Lubbock residents, the NAACP, and Texas Housers over the City’s failure to address discriminatory zoning.
New Jersey Appleseed
New Jersey Appleseed provides legal representation to residents and communities to secure affordable and safe living environments for low and moderate income residents. Additionally, PLANewark (Planning and Land-use Advocates for Newark) is a project of New Jersey Appleseed.
2023
- Filed an amicus brief with Fair Share Housing Center on behalf of a tenant facing an unlawful eviction. The landlord in the case was granted a hardship rent increase of over $1,700/month by a trial court.
- Assisting 63 affordable housing unit owners named by their condominium association in a judgment action seeking to increase their monthly rent to match market rate condo owners.
- Assisting affordable unit owners to secure proper representation on their condo association board and ensure condo board elections are held fairly and transparently.
2022
- Serving as co-counsel in a lawsuit filed in Middlesex County against the Piscataway Town Council and Planning Board on behalf of 10 individuals and three local groups. The suit seeks invalidation of an ordinance that rezoned a 25-acre forested parcel from rural-residential to industrial use in order to allow the construction of two warehouses.
- Serving as co-counsel in a lawsuit which seeks to stop green space from being unlawfully diverted to other purposes as well as get preschoolers out of dilapidated trailers and into a suitable building.
2021
- Served as co-counsel in a lawsuit against Jersey City, filed to challenge a law that would allow a 17-story development on land initially designated for greenspace. The lawsuit alleges that Jersey City violated NJ law, the Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan, and engaged in spot zoning to benefit a developer without community input.
- Granted amicus status in a lawsuit brought by the Fair Share Housing Center challenging Jersey City’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. The lawsuit claimed that the ordinance was rushed to adoption, bypassing the proper legal process, and gave local officials too much discretion to trade affordable housing for developer benefits. The ordinance was ultimately declared null and void, citing procedural violations and concerns about potential abuse and favoritism in trading affordable housing obligations for benefits.
Georgia Appleseed
Georgia Appleseed leads a housing justice initiative to increase access for low-income children and their families to safe, healthy rental housing. The initiative engages directly with tenants, convenes a statewide Healthy Housing Coalition that developed Georgia’s first ten-year Housing Advocacy Plan, advocates for legislative action to protect low-income tenants, and supports a collaborative Homelessness Intervention social innovation lab in Clayton County that develops and implements local solutions. Read their 2023 Health Housing Advocacy Toolkit here.
2023
- Lobbied and won important changes to the bipartisan Safe at Home Act, HB 404, which will create Georgia’s first statewide requirement that landlords provide safe and healthy housing for their tenants—a long-term priority for Georgia Appleseed. HB 404 passed out of the House and will begin next session in the Senate.
- Through their social innovation lab, helped Clayton County design an eviction diversion program that used those funds to stabilize housing for 2,151 individuals and families, and dismiss 853 eviction cases.
- Partnered with Clayton County government and non-profit leaders to hold an innovative tenant education conference at Hearts to Nourish Hope. The 150 attendees participated in small legal workshops with county leaders to better understand their rights and how to exercise them.
- Read the 2023 Health Housing Coalition Policy Recommendations here.
2022
2021
2020
2019
- The Georgia Healthy Housing Coalition, led by Georgia Appleseed, successfully won the passage of HB 346, a historic anti-retaliation law that protects tenants who file complaints with their local housing code enforcement from retaliatory evictions.
Nebraska Appleseed
Nebraska Appleseed partners with Civic Nebraska on Collective Impact Lincoln (CIL), an entity with the goal of building lasting, meaningful, resident-led investment and positive change in six of Lincoln’s core neighborhoods. Together, these organizations lead Speak Up for Housing Rights.
2023
- Nebraska Appleseed’s Kasey Ogle, Senior Staff Attorney for Collective Impact Lincoln (CIL), and Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Caitlin Cedfeldt argued in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court in favor of tenants’ constitutional right to a jury trial in eviction proceedings. While the Supreme Court dismissed the case for mootness, three justices issued a concurring opinion that indicated Nebraskans may in fact have a right to jury in the case of eviction: PRESS RELEASE: Nebraska Supreme Court suggests there may be a right to a jury trial in evictions.
2022
2021
- CIL advocated for several housing justice bills in Nebraska, many of which were passed as part of LB320. Some of these housing victories include access to early termination of rental agreements for victims of domestic violence, publication of eviction data reports from the NE Supreme Court, requiring eviction filings to include a “statutory reason” for eviction, requiring landlords to provide 24-hour written notice for entering a unit, and more.
2020
2019
Hawai’i Appleseed
Hawai’i Appleseed works through legislative and court advocacy and policy research to ensure that affordable housing needs are met throughout the state and that both the government and private developers pay attention to residents’ right to live in a safe, clean environment that they can afford. Hawai’i Appleseed also seeks to be a resource for community groups, administrative agencies, governmental entities, and other non-profit organizations that want to understand how housing laws and policies can be used to improve the state of public housing projects and affordable housing in general in Hawai’i. Hawai’i Appleseed does much of this work through two of its projects, Hawai’i Budget & Policy Center (HBPC) and Lawyers for Equal Justice (LEJ). They also convene the Hawai’i Housing Affordability Coalition.
Read more about Hawai’i Appleseed’s Affordable Housing initiative here.
2023
- HBPC released a 3-part report, Keeping Hawai’i Housed, which underscores the essential link between good health, economic well-being, and secure housing. The report recommends policy approaches to bridge the gap between Hawai’i’s high housing costs and what residents can afford, aiming for a healthier and more affordable future.
- Published several analyses of policy solutions to meet Hawai’i’s housing needs, including raising tax revenue, rent relief and mediation programs, and modeling initiatives on Finland’s Housing First approach.
2022
2021
- Tom Helper of Lawyers for Equal Justice (LEJ) and Caitlin Humphreys of the Legal Aid Society of Hawai’i provided representation for a tenant who was wrongfully evicted from his O’ahu apartment. The complaint alleged that the eviction violated the state eviction moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing unnecessary risk to public health. The tenant reached a settlement of $12,500 in response to the complaint.
2020
- LEJ took action to preserve affordable housing in West Maui. They intervened when the owner of an affordable housing complex built with public money sought to break their commitment to keeping the units affordable for 51 years prematurely. potentially leading to the loss of housing for low-income residents, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. LEJ intervened to challenge FSA’s efforts and safeguard the existing affordable housing stock in Hawai’i amid a housing crisis. Because of LEJ’s action, Front Street Apartments will remain affordable until 2051.
- Note: This apartment complex was devastatingly destroyed in the 2023 West Maui Fire. Tenants who had just won affordable housing now lost their home entirely.
- Published several blog posts and analyses on housing affordability in Hawai’i and advocated on behalf of tenants against illegal evictions.
2018
- Produced a report about the vacation rental industry’s impact on housing costs in Hawai’i, Priced Out of Paradise. The proliferation of vacation rentals, driven by platforms like Airbnb and Homeaway as well as by the potential for significant profit, is increasingly led by nonresident investors, posing challenges such as reduced affordable housing availability, increased housing costs, and resident displacement.
- LEJ published a report, Evicted in Hawai’i: Lives Hanging in the Balance, which summarizes the results of a study on evictions in Hawai’i. Among the findings, the report notes that tenants lose in 95% of eviction court cases and the average return hearing lasts only 75 seconds. Read the press release here.
