For questions, please contact Dynasty Ceasar: dceasar@redressmovement.org.

The residents of the City and County of Milwaukee, urge Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and the entire Board of County Supervisors to create a Housing Subcommittee to address the inequities of housing in Milwaukee, due to some of the facts below:

• The Black homeownership gap in Milwaukee is the second-worst among major cities in the country, and many of those renters pay more in rent than they would in housing costs if they owned their home.

• Milwaukee renters, especially in its lower-income neighborhoods that disproportionately contain folks of color, actually pay significantly more in rent compared to housing prices than their peers in higher-income neighborhoods. This means that they are overpaying for lower-quality housing, from which they are vulnerable to eviction and displacement. It also means that they have the capability to build equity in homes, if they could access homeownership.

• Corporate investors and wealthy landlords are buying properties at an alarming rate. One investor increased home purchases from 240 to 833 properties in just the past two years. According to the September 2022 report from the Community Development Alliance, 40% of all homes in Milwaukee valued at $125,000 or less are owned by corporate investors. These investments lock out home ownership for people with modest incomes in predominantly Black neighborhoods and some Latino neighborhoods.

• Corporate investors and landlords are leaving homes blighted and therefore affect the value of the homes around them and the quality of life for those living in them.

• It has been incredibly difficult to identify, contact, and hold landlords accountable who hide behind LLC’s. Transparency of the actions of these landlords is woefully lacking.

• In the coming year, property taxes are projected to increase between 10.3% and 31.86%, with highest rates increasing in the poorest neighborhoods, placing financial burdens on homeowners and causing rents to drastically increase. Seniors will be especially hard hit.

• Residents are confronted with a dramatic decrease of affordable housing, both for owners and renters, as property values increase and mortgage rates soar. This is particularly true for Black residents. In over 90% of the top urban neighborhoods in the United States, rents were unaffordable to local Black residents. Milwaukee neighborhoods are no different.

• Renters are being evicted at increasingly higher rates, many by local landlords who ignore ordinances or laws by refusing to accept subsidies under Section 8. This adds to the desperation of homelessness in the metropolitan area.

• Residents fear retaliation for reporting housing conditions in dire need of repair. Despite tenant rights, reporting has led to evictions or even accusations of child neglect in some cases. Municipalities of Milwaukee County need additional resources to better enforce tenant protections.

• People are persistently isolated in Milwaukee County by race and economic conditions, making the area one of the most segregated regions in the country.