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The Clinic’s clients and partners are working to tackle pressing housing challenges through law and policy reform, with a focus on advancing low-income persons’ access to affordable, just, and secure housing. Clients include housing advocacy organizations, government officials, and community organizations. Over the course of the semester, students complete a number of written deliverables for their clients, such as policy briefs, research reports, know your rights materials, model laws, and regulatory guidance. Students also have the opportunity to hone their oral advocacy skills, such as through delivering testimony to legislative and regulatory bodies.
Examples of recent HPC Projects:
- Tackling Junk Fees in Rental Housing: HPC students represented the tenant organizing group, BASTA, to rein in excessive and hidden fees charged to tenants in the apartment industry. Students’ work included preparing a policy report, drafting regulatory changes, and submitting regulatory comments to the Federal Trade Commission.
- Improving Housing Conditions: HPC students represented the statewide housing organization, Texas Housers, to pinpoint legal reforms that would help eradicate substandard living conditions in apartments. The students work include a policy report and webinar with stakeholders.
- Protecting Homeowners with Heirs’ Property: HPC students developed model state legislation to protect homeowners and other landowners from losing their land through partition actions brought by outside investors.
- Advancing Equity in Property Tax Policy: HPC students worked with their client Builder of Hope CDC to develop a statewide property tax reform policy guide, which identifies four key legislative reforms to protect vulnerable homeowners from steep property tax hikes and create a more equitable property tax system.
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Students are assigned to work in teams of two to three students on one or two discrete policy projects. In addition to their assigned policy projects, students will have the opportunity to contribute to all of the clinic’s policy projects through class discussions.
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Students should expect to devote an average of 11 hours per week to their policy projects, which includes a weekly team meeting with Professor Way, along with 4-5 hours a week for the clinic’s seminar and seminar preparation.
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The clinic class meets three times a week. In the classroom, HPC students discuss current and emerging housing law and policy issues and hear from guest speakers actively working in the housing policy space. Classes also focus on developing students’ policy lawyering skills through hands-on exercises and on case rounds, where students discuss and provide feedback on each team’s policy projects. Classes include time to work in teams on clinic projects, although students should expect to spend additional time on their projects outside of the classroom.