Most of the bills flew through the House on the final day of Delaware’s 2024 legislative session, but one dealing with affordable housing was met with resistance before passing. Senate Bill 293, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Wilmington, revises both the Delaware Fair Housing Act and Residential Landlord-Tenant Code to repeal the exemption to discrimination based on …
A joint legislative hearing held by Delaware Senate and Housing committees Wednesday started picking threads out of the tangled wad of factors affecting affordable housing and homelessness in Delaware. The convening of the joint session was clearly a shot across the bow of the state political ship and a forerunner to more state, local and community action on the topics. …
A state senator introduced a bill Monday that would crack down on lead paint in homes, including rental apartments, to prevent lead poisoning in children. Senate Bill 9, sponsored by Sarah McBride, D-Wilmington, would create a process for health officials to identify and remediate homes that contain exposed lead paint, which includes screening every residential rental property in Delaware. The …
The Senate Housing & Land Use committee on Wednesday heard from dozens of people supporting a bill to provide tenants who lose their leases the right to a lawyer to help. Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, would set up a system for tenants below 200% of the federal poverty line a right to an …
This story was originally published in April 2022. Evidence continues to pile up that Delaware is struggling to provide affordable housing: Data released in April by Housing Alliance Delaware says the state faces a shortage of more than 18,000 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters. Also this April, Delaware State Housing Authority announced that eligible Delaware renters …
After dispersing $122 million in rental and utility assistance, the Delaware State Housing Authority will stop accepting applications in the new year to manage application volume, the agency announced Tuesday. “There is no guarantee when the program will resume accepting new applications,” the Housing Authority said in a news release. The program closure is necessary due to overwhelming demand, the …
Just over a month after the Delaware State Housing Authority temporarily stopped accepting new applications for rental assistance, the program is back up and running, officials announced Wednesday. The Delaware Housing Assistance Program, or DEHAP, offers financial assistance to qualifying tenants who are at high risk of eviction. The Housing Authority temporarily stopped accepting applications on Sept. 9 to modify …
Delaware’s rental vacancy rate has fallen to the third lowest in the country, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau data. The vacancy rate indicates the percentage of year-round rental units that are unoccupied at the end of each quarter. According to the Census Bureau, only 2.6% of Delaware’s year-round rental units were vacant at the end of June. Only …
Evidence continues to pile up that Delaware is struggling to provide affordable housing: Data released Thursday by Housing Alliance Delaware says the state faces a shortage of more than 18,000 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters. Also Thursday, Delaware State Housing Authority announced that eligible Delaware renters can now receive up to 18 months of rental and …
Lawmakers and advocates say a new Delaware Supreme Court rule that allows tenants to be represented by non-lawyer advocates in eviction proceedings will create parity with landlords and mitigate some of the most harmful effects of housing insecurity. Opponents, including the Delaware Apartment Association, the non-profit group that represents the interests of multi-family rental unit landlords, say efforts and money …
