Policy, Advocacy, and Legislation

The Fair Housing Council of Metropolitan Memphis advocates for inclusive communities throughout the Memphis Metropolitan Area.

FHCMM calls for the following fundamental changes on behalf of our community to ensure that fair, equitable, and accessible housing is made available to all.

1.  Strengthen Fair Housing Education and Enforcement

1. 1. Increase funding for local fair housing organizations to expand fair housing education, complaint intake, testing, and investigative capacity.
   2. Mandate annual fair housing training for all landlords and property managers who receive funding, tax breaks, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes benefits from the City or County.
   3. Require that all local Community Development Corporations, their boards, staff, receive annual fair housing training.
   4. Provide fair housing information and advertisements to all members of the community through local utility companies and city and county housing departments.
   5. Require all owners, investors, and property management companies receiving public funds to undergo annual fair housing training and audits.
   6. Establish a city/county-wide Fair Housing Oversight Committee to monitor fair housing compliance and respond to complaints in real time. Publish qualifications and requirements for committee members and make information available to the public in print and electronic form.
   7. Support an annual Fair Housing Conference sponsored by local Fair Housing

1.  Invest in Habitable, Affordable Housing and Housing Choice in All Neighborhoods
2. Embed fair housing metrics into housing plans, zoning decisions, and development incentives. Prioritize funding for housing projects that demonstrably expand access for historically excluded communities.
3. Design, develop, and construct housing units that may be rented and/or purchased by community members whose income is at or below 100% of Area Median Income (AMI).
4. Promote integration by ensuring every Memphis neighborhood as at least 10% of its housing available to people living at 100% of AMI.
5. Construct homes near existing transportation lines so that community members have access to grocery stores, neighborhoods markets, clothing stores, schools, and houses of worship.
6. Mandate that all landlords bring their housing into compliance with local building codes. Strictly enforce the mandate, and implement severe penalties when buildings are not brought up to code.
7. Make the housing codes accessible and easy for the average person to understand. Circulate the codes to housing developers, housing providers, landlords, leasing agents, owners, legal agencies, housing agencies, and tenants. Publish them in the newspaper and include them in the daily and nightly news broadcasts via radio and television.

III.  Strengthen Urban Transportation and Infrastructure

1. Expand the local transportation system. Ensure that tickets are affordable for all residents, and that buses are on time, operable, and suitable to people with disabilities.
2. Develop and maintain a solid transportation plan for the City of Memphis and Shelby County using up-to-date maps and geographics. Publicize the plan and include it in the Commercial Appeal and other Local Newspapers. Place on the daily and nightly newscasts for every news station.
3. Provide bus stops near local grocery stores, schools, and other places of need and interest. Provide bus stops near clothing stores and on all major thoroughfares in EVERY PART OF THE CITY!
4. Provide covered and air-conditioned bus stops where people are comfortable enough to sit and wait on the bus. No passenger should be sitting outside on the curb in the rain or 105 degrees weather while waiting for the city bus.
5. Ensure that buses arrive as scheduled. Local buses should not arrive 1-2 hours late on a regular basis.
6. Ensure that riders are informed of scheduling changes resulting from actual or anticipated severe weather.
7. Fund the city’s transportation system and review customer satisfaction rates and surveys.
8. Evaluate the city and county transportation plans no later than every 7-10 years to ensure that the transportation plan aligns with population trends and census data.

1. Expand Access to housing for Housing Choice Voucher Holders
2. Require all housing providers to use the tenant’s portion of the rent to calculate income eligibility rather than the total rent amount.
3. Prevent housing providers who receive city, state, or county tax credits, monetary assistance, or any type of operating subsidy from any city, county, or local government from using screening criteria that excludes members of the protected classes like use of criminal records.
4. Stop housing providers who receive city, state, or county tax credits, monetary assistance, or any type of operating subsidy from any city, county, or local government from charging any application fees or upfront charges that are more than the cost the housing provider is being charged.