The extended-stay trap
Denise Parker, a 26-year-old single mother, spent most of her teenage years living in rundown motels in Clayton County. She never wanted that life for her daughter, and worked hard to avoid it. But like her mother and grandmother before her, Parker experienced a series of financial setbacks that landed her back in the extended-stay hotel trap.
Our in-depth series, The Extended Stay Trap, breaks down factors like high rent, low wages, and lack of tenant protections that have derailed four Clayton County families from staying safely and stably housed. It also explores local solutions — from how Clayton Public Schools’ innovative Homeless Education Department offers families a needed boost to how the Clayton Magistrate Court is reducing evictions.
“It’s kind of scary to be at a hotel with just me and my daughter and not have any type of protection,” Parker told Katie Guenthner. “[I’m] scared to go to sleep at night, because I’m scared somebody might kick in the door.”
This series unpacks the overlapping challenges keeping countless families across Georgia stuck on the edge of homelessness — and it highlights the need for more robust solutions, from childcare assistance to ways the state legislature could increase housing access.
→ Check out the full series here.
Sweet Auburn housing for formerly homeless Atlantans bound for upgrades
Local nonprofit 3Keys is undertaking a major renovation of a 76-unit supportive housing complex for formerly homeless people in Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn community. Construction crews on Wednesday will start a year-long overhaul of the O’Hern House apartments.
Additional upgrades include new furniture, appliances, more efficient utilities, and a refurbished industrial kitchen. Residents of the 118-year-old building have moved to a nearby apartment complex, where they’ll remain until renovations are completed next fall.
The project is largely funded by a $5.4 million grant from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget.
Fulton homestead exemption clawbacks spur lawsuits
A pair of proposed class actions claim Fulton County is retroactively revoking some property tax breaks without proper notice or legal authority after a homeowner dies — and then billing the heirs or surviving co-owners for hefty back taxes. The plaintiffs argue the homestead exemption clawbacks have disproportionately harmed lower-income Black homeowners, depriving them of intergenerational wealth and destabilizing communities.
The two lawsuits filed by civil rights law firm Spears & Filipovits, accuse the county of illegally rescinding some homestead exemptions long after a homeowner dies and saddling surviving homeowners with surprise bills, liens, and even threats of foreclosure. This practice is unlawful, according to the lawsuits, because Georgia law bars a county from retroactively billing homeowners over property tax breaks unless they benefit taxpayers.
🏘️ Read the full story here.
Atlanta Fed: Home prices ‘improved slightly’ for buyers
It became “slightly” more affordable for metro Atlantans to buy a home in July, due to stabilizing interest rates, according to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The Atlanta Fed clocked the median home price at $403,333 in July for the greater Atlanta area and the median interest rate at 6.7%. That compares with a median income of $90,000.
📊 Check out the Atlanta Fed’s data on home prices at its Home Ownership Affordability Monitor website.
Ben Crump building class action against Forest Cove owner Millennia
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump is finally building a class action lawsuit against Millennia Housing Management, the embattled owner of the infamous — and now demolished — Forest Cove Apartments.
Nearly two years ago, Crump and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced they’d mount a class action against the Ohio-based mega-landlord — but it hasn’t yet materialized. Crump said at a Sept. 10 press conference that personal injury claims brought by former Section 8 tenants against Millennia have failed in Arkansas, Mississippi and other states over damage claims from unmitigated mold, mildew, and dangerous structural issues.
So Crump plans to take a new approach: Suing Millennia for breach of contract over failing to deliver habitable housing under the Section 8 contracts it entered into with tenants and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in exchange for federal subsidies.
📂 Read the full story here.
Atlanta City Council candidates fielded housing questions at public forums
Abundant Housing Atlanta held two forums last week for the public to find out how Atlanta City Council candidates in the hotly contested District 11 and District 2 races would mitigate the city’s housing crisis. Both forums were held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Midtown.
Abundant Housing co-founder Ernest Brown grilled the crowded field of District 11 hopefuls on Sept. 17 over how to prevent displacement, overhaul Atlanta’s zoning code, and accelerate housing development. The Atlanta advocacy group is a member of the national YIMBY Action network.
Your ACC housing reporter moderated the District 2 candidate forum on Sept. 18. I asked candidates how they’d help senior homeowners navigate rising property taxes, their take on expanding more affordable and diverse housing options in single-family neighborhoods, and what tools the city can use to foster affordability.
📺 Watch the candidate housing forums at the links below:
Today’s newsletter was written by Sean Keenan and edited by Meredith Hobbs. Your donation makes Housing Happenings and ACC’s housing reporting possible. Support local, nonprofit journalism that empowers Atlantans to improve their communities.