Analysis of Impediments to Fair & Affordable Housing Greenville County Human Relations Commission

Purpose: To identify possible impediments to fair and affordable housing choice in Greenville County, as well as to suggest recommendations for improvement.

Methodology Gathering of data Community profile data/census data Public record/governmental info Surveys Personal interviews HMDA data Client feedback Data analyses Charts, figures, tables GIS Identifying impediments & recommendations

Impediments Economic Barriers Abusive Credit & Lending Practices Awareness & Outreach Issues Housing Availability Regulatory & Development Barriers Transportation Barriers Discrimination Cultural Barriers Human Conditions Other Impediments

Economic Barriers Education Employment Income Health CareTransportation

Abusive Credit & Lending Practices Credit history is the largest problem/reason for denial (despite race and income) (HMDA) Credit history is seen as the greatest impediment to affordable housing (Lenders) Predatory lending (Neighborhood surveys) Residents were offered interest rates or new loans with interest rates as high as 29% Predatory lending laws currently only have minor civil penalties for violators Payday Lenders and Rent-to-Own Centers 27 payday, 3 rent-to-own ( Contributing factors: Income, Education

Awareness & Outreach Issues Low education and awareness of the housing industry, personal finances, and abusive lending practices remains a problem Survey results suggested a strong interest by a majority of respondents in furthering their education through programs such as homeowner education, job training, budgeting, and recovering credit

Awareness & Outreach Issues Only a slight majority of agencies surveyed were aware of the HRC’s database search option (Help in Housing), leaving almost 48% in the dark

Housing Availability Big Problem: There is a lack of affordable housing for low-to-moderate income residents Rental Housing The median gross rent for GC has almost doubled in the last decade, with GC having a higher median gross rent than the state Approximately ¼ of Greenville’s population is paying 35% or more of their household income towards rent Section 8

Housing Availability, continued Owner-occupied Housing Median home value: $111,800 Less than 10% of houses on the market were valued at $50,000 or less, with the majority valued at or over $100K Supportive/transitional housing Senior housing in GC is 98.8% occupied

Regulatory & Development Barriers Regulatory barriers have been labeled as “one of [the] greatest challenges” to developing affordable housing (Denver Habitat for Humanity, 2005) The costs of developing housing often increase the price of the home until it is out of the affordable range. Neighborhood approvals, environmental laws, public policy can often increase the costs by adding unnecessary Contributing factors: environmental laws and public policy

Transportation Barriers Lack of transportation With transit routes limited due to a lack of funding, housing that is outside the GTA service area, does not have access to public transportation.

Discrimination Discrimination is still at play – respondents felt it was due to national origin, familial status, and receiving Section 8 Discrimination still reported by a few clients; those warranted were due more to being low- income than to do with race (Agency surveys) A few of the surveyed agencies had clients report NIMBYism, with the majority of claims involving rental properties

Discrimination, continued Almost 75% of the agencies surveyed did not have policies or procedures in place for dealing with complaints of housing discrimination Contributing factors: fear, lack of education

Cultural Barriers Language barriers Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the population Few agencies surveyed reported that they served Hispanic populations

Human Conditions Illness Disability Criminal record Mental illness & Addiction

Other Impediments Crime Deterrence to residents and business- owners Natural Disasters Displacement, rebuilding costs

Priority Areas

Economic Issues Consumer Education Affordable Housing Availability Housing Development Activity Cultural Awareness and Diversity Training

Recommendations

Economic Barriers Continue to partner with WIA, Greenville Technical College and other job-training resources to help individuals attain skills needed for better paying jobs. Create micro-business development programs to train and assist low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs. Create/modify county-wide policies to address poverty and un- or under-employment issues. Research model programs nationwide that efficiently and effectively provide emergency funding for foreclosure prevention

Abusive Credit & Lending Practices Increase awareness and education on the warning signs of predatory lending. Encourage community residents to report abusive credit practices. Continue to hold and fund forums and lecture series with the private sectors to educate lenders on abusive practices. Encourage those who have been victims to seek appropriate counseling and help. Discourage people from using cash advance or rent- to-own centers frequently. Consumer awareness education

Outreach & Awareness Increase programs on personal finances and first time home-buying to middle and high school students. Increase awareness of fair and affordable housing programs targeting property managers (fair housing programs, predatory lending programs, financial literacy activities, etc.). Increase use of mass media Assess the need for flexible housing education class times, additional languages needed, etc.

Outreach & Awareness, continued Conduct public forums to educate communities where low-to-moderate income housing may be developed, and also to address concerns and issues of those in the neighborhood. Advocate for continuing education of landlords, and provide necessary workshops and education hours, particularly pertaining to landlord/tenant laws and fair housing, as well as how to handle tense tenant- landlord situations. Keep home-buyer education programs funded and well advertised; Increase funding for all educational programs.

Housing Availability Support programs that rehabilitate old and condemned homes for use as affordable housing. Increase the production of affordable rental units that are low-income and elderly/disabled friendly. Increase public/private sector partnerships to off-set costs of developing. Provide more incentives and tax breaks for landlords to encourage renting more cost- efficient units.

Housing Availability, continued Learn what the community wants/needs before beginning new low-to-moderate income development. Community focus groups Replace low-to-moderate income housing with low-to-moderate income housing. Ex. Jesse Jackson Townhomes/HOPE VI

Regulatory & Development Barriers Create a committee to examine and adjust regulatory barriers faced in Greenville County development. Reward and acknowledge organizations, companies, agencies and communities that promote and support affordable housing and related services. Research feasibility of a local tax which would generate funding for a Fair & Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Provide incentives to developers for building affordable housing. Zone more vacant land for affordable, single,multi- family, infill/scattered housing.

Transportation Develop affordable housing closer to public transportation routes. Increase public support and funding of Greenville’s transit system. Promote and support alternate transportation. i.e. Ride-share, employer mini-buses, vans

Discrimination Continue education efforts to both the public and private sectors on what practices are defined as discrimination, how to report any discriminatory acts, as well as repercussions that could be felt by those who carry out wrongful acts. Encourage the reporting of discriminatory acts. Provide educational and diversity programs to communities where NIMBYism may become a problem.

Cultural Barriers Encourage other departments and agencies who do not offer bilingual services to consider this option for clientele. Continue the use of cultural events and mass media to reach Hispanic communities. Provide diversity/cultural sensitivity training to landlords, property managers, mortgage brokers, and other members of the housing industry.

Human Conditions Increase supportive and transitional housing for residents in need. Support the local 10 year plan to end homelessness. Blue Print for Ending Homelessness

Crime Identify community leaders. Increase the visibility of police in neighborhoods with a high crime rate. Promote use of crime prevention surveys and community crime watch programs. Educate residents on police relations. Encourage reporting of crimes.

Natural Disasters Pre-identify available emergency housing for Greenville County. Identify and support partner agencies for times of crisis. Encourage contributions to those partner agencies. No funding from FEMA – strictly contributions Pre-plan with FEMA for reimbursement requests for disaster relief.

Conclusions While there have been improvements since the last analysis was completed in 2001, Greenville County still faces many of the similar impediments to fair and affordable housing choice.