10 Things You Can (Actually) Do About Your City's Housing Crisis

In a previous post, I shared three hidden forces behind America's housing crisis: corporate landlords, alarming tax incentives, and unconscious bias in zoning.

So, what? you might ask. What can I do about it?

A lot. This bomb ass list is organized from easiest to more in-depth - and I’ve added some cut-and-paste options to make it super simple to be the hero you are. Remember: the future isn’t a place we visit; it’s a place we create!

Start Here: Individual Actions

1. Diversity your retirement savings

If your home is the largest part of your retirement savings, you're more likely to guard its value and act like the myopic, me-first lady I mentioned in Part 1, who couldn’t see how her narrow self-interest prevented affordable housing for others.

Action step: If your home is more than 50% of your net worth, rebalance your portfolio. Talk to your financial advisor about diversifying into stocks, bonds, and other assets. When your financial security doesn't depend on your home value, you're free to support housing policies that help others.

2. Rent a room to a younger adult

This might seem like a big step, but start small; simply ask, “Do I have extra space?” You could rent it to a student or young professional at below-market rates in exchange for some help around the house. You get some income. They get affordable housing.

Safety first! Get references, run background checks (RentSpree, $35), meet in public first, trust your instincts, and create a written agreement covering rent, chores, and house rules.

Best places to find renters:

• Formal programs: JFS Home-Share, Nesterly (safest for beginners)
• College housing offices - They often track students needing affordable options
• Personal networks - Ask friends, faith communities, professional contacts

Action step: Start with formal programs if you're new to renting, or tap your personal network for referrals. Humans have been living in intergenerational configurations since forever, but in case you can’t remember, read more about the benefits here.

Keep Going: Be an Advocate

3. Be a champion for best practices

There are a lot of tried-and-proven housing solutions. This is your chance to make sure your local electeds know about them, and {playfully} encourage them to legalize alternative housing types like:

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) - Let homeowners add housing to property they already own, e.g., granny flats, garage apartments, basement conversions, bumpouts.

Co-housing - Shared kitchens, private bedrooms, and a sense of community. Sometimes called “housing co-ops” or “boarding houses” in ye olden times.

Community land trusts - Keep housing affordable forever. Example: Troy Gardens Cohousing, owned by the Madison Area Community Land Trust.

• Small-lot development - Not everyone needs a McMansion yard. Houston cut its requirement from 4,000 to 1,000 square feet with great results.
• Intergenerational housing - Apartment buildings where 25-year-olds and 75-year-olds can be neighbors

Action step: Find the email addresses of your local representatives (links below) and then copy and paste (or customize!) the sample email below.

Find Your Representatives:

• All levels: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
• Alternative tool: https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/

Sample email for innovative housing:

Subject: Let's Make ADUs and Co-Housing Legal (Like the Fonz's Apartment!)

Dear [Council Member Name],

Remember the Fonz from Happy Days? He lived in an apartment above the Cunningham's garage - that's an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit). Joey Gladstone lived in the basement with the Tanners in Full House. In Parenthood, Sarah and her teenagers moved in with her parents. These living arrangements were practical, affordable, and helped families support one another.

Yet in most of our cities, these arrangements are illegal to build.

Young adults can't afford their own places, and older adults have empty bedrooms. Students need affordable housing, and retirees need extra income. The solution is sitting right there in our zoning code - we just need to make these housing types legal again:

• ADUs (like the Fonz's apartment)
• Co-housing communities with shared kitchens and private bedrooms
• Small-lot development for smaller, affordable homes
• Intergenerational housing where 25-year-olds and 75-year-olds can be neighbors

What is our city doing to legalize innovative housing that actually works for real families? Because if it was good enough for the Fonz, it should be good enough for us.

[Your name and address]

4. Say “Thank you” to YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) leaders

City council and neighborhood leaders don’t get enough praise for all they do to stand up to NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard protesters) and advocate for more innovative affordable housing solutions.

Action step: Find your local YIMBY group leader or brave elected official and send them a note of thanks via email or social media.

Sample Social Media Posts:

"Shoutout to [Council Member Name/YIMBY Group Name] for standing up to the NIMBYs week after week! 👏 It takes real courage to support affordable housing when neighbors are screaming about 'neighborhood character.' Thank you for fighting so young adults and young families can actually afford to live here. We see you and we appreciate you! 🏠✨ #YIMBY #HousingHeroes #ThankYou"

OR

"PSA: Your local housing advocates, [Council Member Name/YIMBY Group Name], are doing the thankless work of showing up to boring meetings so young people and young families can afford to build their lives here. Drop them a note of thanks - they need to hear it! 💪 #YIMBY #HousingAdvocates"

5. Serve on your planning and zoning commission

Your community probably has a Planning and Zoning Commission, and it’s probably dominated by single-family homeowners who - God love ‘em - literally cannot see demand for any other type of housing beyond single-family homes.

You could represent the housing innovations your city needs.

Action step: Contact your city clerk about application processes. Warning: You'll spend a lot of time listening to people complain about parking. Bring coffee.

6. Check: Does your city coordinate housing and transportation planning and policies?

Most cities plan housing and transportation separately. This is completely bonkers - because the next generation doesn’t want to spend time in traffic, prefers mass transit or autonomous transit, and wants to live near major transit stations.

You can push for integrated planning that puts housing where transit already exists, and builds transit to serve the most dense housing areas.

Action step: Email your elected representative and ask whether your city's housing and transportation departments plan together. If not, ask “Why not?”

Be a PITA (Pain in the Ass) Against Bad Things

7. Fight corporate landlords taking over your neighborhoods

Private equity firms are buying up apartments like they're collecting Pokemon cards, except way less fun and they're ruining our next generation’s future.

What to demand from your city council:

• Right-of-first-refusal for tenants when buildings sell
• Caps on corporate ownership of residential properties
• Requirements for corporate landlords to maintain local offices (make them face the people they're squeezing)

Action step: Email your city council using the sample letter below. Find your representatives: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Sample email that gets attention:

Subject: Stop Private Equity from Buying Our Neighborhoods

Dear [Council Member Name],

Wall Street discovered they can make money by buying up our apartments and squeezing renters. Private equity firms now control over 1 million apartments nationally, using taxpayer-backed loans to drive up rents while cutting maintenance.

Other cities are fighting back with policies like:

• Right of first refusal for tenants when buildings sell
• Caps on corporate ownership of residential properties
• Requirements for corporate landlords to maintain local offices

What is our city doing to protect residents from these corporate vultures? Because "market forces" isn't working when the market is rigged.

[Your name and address]

Sample Social Media Post:

"Just learned that private equity firms own 1 million+ apartments in the US, using taxpayer-backed loans to drive up rents. Asked my city council what they're doing about corporate landlords. What's your city doing? 🏠 #housingcrisis #intergenerational"

Some Ready-to-Go Talking Points to use in your letters and socials:

• "Corporate landlords own 20% of apartments in some states"
• "Real estate gets more tax breaks than any other industry"
• "70% of residential areas ban apartments"
• "Intergenerational housing benefits both seniors and young adults"
• "Home-sharing programs exist in most major cities"

8. Call out the NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard crowd)

You know the type: "I support affordable housing! Just not here, not now, not this design, not these people..."

When neighbors use coded language about "neighborhood character" and "outside developers," call it what it is: a racist dog whistle; exclusion designed to protect wealth at others' expense.

Action step: Attend one public hearing where housing is discussed. When someone says affordable housing will "change the character of the neighborhood," stand up and say "Good. Our character needs changing if it keeps young families out."

How to Find a Planning Meeting:

• Search "[your city] planning commission meetings"
• Most post agendas online 1 week ahead
• Public comment usually allowed

9. Stop tax subsidies for real estate speculation

Real estate gets more tax breaks than any other industry, and most of those breaks now go to wealthy investors instead of working families. Time to flip that script.

What to demand from state legislators:

• Cap property tax deductions for non-primary residences
• Limit investment property tax breaks beyond a certain threshold
• End corporate tax advantages for residential property speculation

Action step: Find the email address of your state reps and send this letter.

Find Your Representatives:

• All levels: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
• Alternative tool: https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/

Sample Letter

Subject: Stop Subsidizing Housing Speculation

Dear [Representative Name],

Why are taxpayers subsidizing the very investors who are pricing us out of housing? Real estate gets more tax breaks than any other industry, but these benefits now mostly flow to speculators, not families.

It's time to cap property tax deductions for:

• Non-primary residences
• Investment properties beyond reasonable limits
• Corporate ownership of residential properties

Use the savings for affordable housing programs. Make the tax code work for residents, not just investors.

[Your name and address]

Build it Yourself

10. Build your own ADU and rent it affordably

If you own a home, consider adding a "granny flat" or converting existing space (garage, basement) into a small apartment. Rent it affordably to young adults while generating income for yourself.

Benefits: Increases housing stock, provides rental income, potential aging-in-place option for you later.

Action step: Check your city's ADU rules and get estimates from contractors. Many cities now have streamlined permitting.

The Bottom Line: Housing became expensive because we made policies that favor wealth over shelter. The solutions require the same level of intentionality that created the problem.

Most of these fights happen at city council meetings and planning commission hearings that barely anyone attends. Show up. The people protecting their property values are already there.

Your turn: Which will you try first? What else should we add to the list? Leave your note in the comments.