Housing

El contrato de arrendamiento se comercializa de forma que las personas que no pueden obtener un crédito hipotecario puedan realizar su sueño de poseer una vivienda. Pero la mayoría de las veces, los compradores no acaban siendo propietarios. Además, la mayoría de los estados de la zona central del país ofrecen poca, o ninguna, protección para evitar el abuso al consumidor.

The contract for deed option is marketed as a way for people who can’t get a conventional mortgage to realize the dream of owning a home. But more often than not, buyers do not end up as homeowners. And, most Midwestern states provide little, if any, consumer protection to prevent abuse.

Action St. Louis and Arch City Defenders will host a town hall for renters at 6 p.m. today. Renters from the St. Louis area can speak with housing advocates about housing issues, eviction questions and how to build a tenant-led housing movement in St. Louis.

Quiet title laws across the Midwest can disproportionately affect homeowners who don’t speak English, like Natalia Esteban, who emigrated from Mexico over 20 years ago.

Four St. Louis nonprofits will develop nearly 200 affordable apartments and homes across St. Louis over the next few years, thanks in part to a grant from the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

St. Louis County Council passed a bill to pause evictions during the holidays. The council also approved $5 million of federal funds to provide about 30 days of emergency rental assistance.

Alderwoman Megan Green, who represents the 15th Ward, says her neighborhood is losing affordable housing units and people are getting priced out. She hopes imposing a conversion fee on developers who flip multi-unit buildings into single-family homes will help.

An Affordable Housing Trust Fund Coalition report found that St. Louis and St. Louis County failed to provide Black renters, households and low-income families with affordable housing.

As of the end of September, the state had awarded only 18% of the $323.7 million it received as part of the COVID-relief package Congress approved in December.

St. Louis County officials have distributed more than $18 million in emergency rental assistance funds, exceeding the amount the federal program requires the county to spend by September. Another round of funding is coming soon.