“I wish it were this easy for everyone out there”: How digital platforms are reshaping rental experiences in Tanzania

Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) like BlueHub Loan Fund are stepping up to help create and preserve affordable housing. BlueHub Loan Fund recently financed a project in Nashville that converted two abandoned motels into affordable studio apartments, when larger banks wouldn’t finance the project.

Hawai‘i lawmakers are considering SB 332, a "community opportunity to purchase" policy that would give tenants, community land trusts, housing nonprofits and local governments up to 45 days to match or beat bids on foreclosed homes. This legislation is aimed at preserving affordable housing and preventing displacement and is modeled after similar successful policies in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

The Community Receiver Program works with real estate professionals of color to rehabilitate vacant and foreclosed properties. These properties are then resold to local homebuyers — to preserve generational wealth — or rented out at affordable rates. The program trains people to be community receivers for free, teaching them how to acquire and rehabilitate the buildings, as well as how to leverage grants and local funding programs. Since 2020, the Program has trained about 520 people, rehabilitated 16 buildings and contributed about $4.5 million in restored property value.

The Squamish Nation is building Senakw, a 6,000-unit, 11-tower residential development on 10 acres of ancestral land returned to them in Vancouver, one of North America's least affordable cities. Freed from the city's restrictive zoning and land-use laws, the Squamish completed the first three towers in 2025, putting 1,408 rental apartments on the market, including several hundred subsidized units for lower-income families. The first tenants moved in at the end of May, and the project has prompted Vancouver to begin loosening some of its own housing rules.

Community organizations in Milwaukee's Metcalfe Park neighborhood are tackling the city's homeownership crisis through lease-to-own programs that convert foreclosed properties into affordable homes for long-term renters. Metcalfe Park Community Bridges' Reclaim and Restore initiative purchases foreclosed homes from the city, rehabs them using donor and foundation funding, and transfers ownership to neighborhood residents through an equity-based lottery system with monthly payments as low as $901.

The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), enacted in Washington, D.C. in 1980, gives tenants the right of first refusal when their building is put up for sale. The law requires landlords to notify tenants before selling, allowing residents to purchase the property themselves, form cooperative ownership, or assign their rights to affordable housing nonprofits. Since forming, TOPA, with the help of several local housing and tenant organizations, has preserved thousands of homes in D.C.

In response to two historic apartment buildings facing condemnation and displacing low-income tenants, property manager Tim Brewer conducted major renovations, implemented flexible rental policies, offered free laundry services, and built a supportive sense of community through regular gatherings and collaborative problem-solving. His efforts not only saved the apartment buildings but also improved residents' sense of safety and community engagement.

Moms for Housing reclaim vacant homes owned by investors to provide a place for single mothers to live. Advocating for housing as a human right, 13 organizers are currently living in these unoccupied houses and through civil disobedience, managed to negotiate temporary housing as they continue fighting for permanent solutions to the area’s housing crisis.

KC Tenants is a tenant union that connects renters to put pressure on landlords and local government to protect tenant rights. With the help of the group’s political arm, KC Tenants Power, they have blocked thousands of evictions, received millions of dollars in funding to secure affordable housing for those in need and have grown to about 10,000 members. Outside of blocking evictions and securing long-term affordable housing, the group also has four members who won City Council seats.

Grove Park Renewal aims to help residents from the majority-black area of northwest Atlanta become homeowners by turning vacant properties into newly renovated, affordable homes. The nonprofit also offers an affordable rental program that allows qualifying individuals and families to live in one of its properties at a more affordable, income-adjusted rate.