According to the Mercury News, State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) recently introduced a bill in California aimed at putting vacant homes into the hands of the homeless. Skinner referenced the story of how a group of homeless moms known as "Moms 4 Housing" in Oakland occupied a vacant house and eventually won the right to buy it through a nonprofit. “Moms 4 Housing shined a light on the fact that while over a 150,000 Californians are now homeless, right now in our own neighborhoods, there are more than 1 million vacant homes,” said Skinner “Many of these affordable homes were snatched up during a foreclosure by corporations who then kept the houses vacant or flipped them for hefty profits.”
Senate Bill 1079, Skinner’s proposal, would let local governments fine corporations that own multiple single-family homes if they let them sit empty for more than 90 days. The money would then go toward rental assistance, homelessness prevention efforts and other affordable housing programs. It would also allow cities to use eminent domain to purchase the vacant homes for affordable housing.
The bill would also give tenants the first chance to buy homes if they go into foreclosure. If they decline, cities, counties, community land trusts and nonprofit affordable housing groups would have the opportunity to buy the properties to create affordable housing.
While cities and counties right now have that right in many places, they often decline and houses are often bought by corporations at auction. SB 1079 would aim to encourage corporations to either rent out or sell the homes to local governments by allowing cities and counties that are relying on eminent domain to use the lowest appraised value of a property.
