- The Department of Housing and Urban Development has backed away from health and safety requirements for public housing that would require certain fire prevention standards.
- Housing industry groups urged HUD to ease some of the requirements, saying they would be too burdensome for landlords which alarmed some tenant advocates.
- Advocates for tenants urged HUD not to weaken safety standards in ways that could endanger the 5 million families who live in federally assisted housing.
Suzy Khimm from NBC News writes:
“The Department of Housing and Urban Development has backed away from new health and safety requirements for public housing that would require fire extinguishers, a minimum number of electrical outlets and other measures intended to protect residents from serious and potentially life-threatening hazards, according to the latest draft of the new standards.
Housing industry groups had urged HUD to ease some of these requirements, saying they would be too burdensome for landlords — alarming some tenant advocates who were caught off guard by the recent changes.
“It was surprising because we thought they were moving in a positive direction in a lot of ways. So it was disappointing that there was a retrenchment,” said Michael Kane, executive director of the National Alliance of HUD Tenants, an advocacy group. “The stronger version is important for people’s health and safety.”
The standards are part of a sweeping, yearslong overhaul that aims to strengthen HUD’s inspection system for federally subsidized housing, including traditional public housing, Section 8 rentals and homes for older people with low incomes.
See full story here.
Categories: Government, Infrastructure
Economic Left 
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