Affordable housing receiving attention in Legislature — finally

This year, housing is finally getting traction in the state Legislature. After decades of lack of investment in affordable housing, legislators are highlighting the economic impact our affordable housing shortage has had. Housing is the linchpin for success for a thriving education system, robust tourism and economic development. We cannot comply with the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit if children do not have stable, affordable homes to learn in. Our tourism sector will not fully recover if workers cannot afford their housing in Taos, Santa Fe, Ruidoso or Albuquerque. We also know affordable, stable housing is a main driver of improving public safety. Ultimately, affordable housing is a racial justice issue.

As stated by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, housing is health care and housing is racial equity — both serve as the foundation for any strategy to end homelessness, improve health and advance racial equity.

COVID-19 brought crushing harm to thousands of families in New Mexico, and those with low incomes have been disproportionately impacted. Many have struggled to remain safely and stably housed, due in large part to a significant shortage of affordable homes for people with low incomes before the pandemic began.

Fortunately, we have an opportunity to stem the tide of homelessness and improve tenant protections. It is urgent the Legislature pass Senate Bill 134, New Mexico Housing Trust Fund, and House Bill 65, Housing Modernization, as essential steps in addressing our housing crisis.

◆ The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority recently reported a statewide shortage of 32,000 units that are affordable to people living at extremely low incomes.

◆ The Urban Institute housing study identified a gap of 15,500 units of affordable housing in Albuquerque alone.

◆ Reported in the Guardian, homelessness is deadly: “Twenty U.S. urban areas found the number of deaths among people living without housing shot up by 77 percent in the five years ending in 2020.”

◆ A review of New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator data revealed the state saw an 83 percent increase in the number of deaths among people without housing in the same timeframe.

◆ Tenant protections and increasing supply of housing go hand in hand.

◆ New Jersey has tenant protections and at the same time is experiencing its largest construction increase since the 1980s.

◆ In Japan, similar tenant protections have not limited housing, Tokyo produces more housing than the state of California.

The current landlord-tenant law in New Mexico does not balance the rights of renters and landlords and puts renters at risk of housing instability. Housing instability too often results in the cruelty of homelessness.

New Mexico already has passed up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fully leverage federal dollars to inject resources into our housing market. For example, Colorado recently proposed spending $400 million in federal pandemic relief money for housing.

Let’s not pass up the opportunity to create a recurring source of revenue for the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund with SB 134 and to ensure we don’t leave federal rental assistance dollars on the table by passing HB 65. HB 65 will increase the time landlords and tenants have to access rental assistance funds before eviction. These are smart solutions to complex and deeply entrenched problems in our state.

It is our responsibility to ensure community resources are directed toward solutions that guarantee the right to housing. It’s time for real investments in permanent affordable housing.

Rachel Biggs is the chief strategy o∞cer at Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, a federally qualified health center serving people without homes in Bernalillo County.

COVID-19 brought crushing harm to thousands of families in New Mexico, and those with low incomes have been disproportionately impacted.