What We Do

The National Housing Law Project’s mission is to advance housing justice for poor people and communities.  We achieve this by strengthening and enforcing the rights of tenants and low-income homeowners, increasing housing opportunities for underserved communities, and preserving and expanding the nation’s supply of safe and affordable homes.

We are committed to an environment of inclusion and equitable opportunity for members of the Housing Justice Network, our partner organizations, clients, staff, and board. We seek to hire individuals from diverse backgrounds, especially people with lived experiences impacted by housing insecurity and discrimination, or who have experienced the intersection of multiple systems of discrimination. We actively promote mutual respect, acceptance, appreciation, and teamwork across all lines of difference.

NHLP was founded as a support center to assist the newly formed legal services organizations.  We continue to play that role, providing technical assistance and training to legal aid attorneys and co-counseling on key litigation.  We now also operate more broadly, working with organizers and other advocacy and service organizations to achieve our mission.

From our earliest days we took the lessons that we learned from our partners in the field and advocated for policy change in Washington and in state capitals.  Policy advocacy and impact litigation are key components of our work and are always grounded in the lessons we learn from partners and from the Housing Justice Network.

Our Activities

To accomplish our mission NHLP pursues a number of different strategies:

• Public Policy Advocacy
• Impact Litigation
• Training
• Publications
• Technical Assistance

As a support center, NHLP serves attorneys and nonprofits and does not represent or advise individuals.

Housing Justice Network

A key part of our identity is serving as the host of the Housing Justice Network, a collection of over 1000 legal services attorneys, advocates and organizers from around the country. The network has an active listserv, working groups and the Housing Justice Network Conference.