LSC Releases Issue Brief on Extended-Stay Motels

In April, LSC's Housing Task Force released the third installment in its four-part series of issue briefs on housing issues. The latest brief looks at the role of extended-stay motels in housing insecurity and instability.

Living in an extended-stay motel often subjects residents to overcrowding and habitability issues, unreliable utilities and adverse impacts on children due to problems associated with elevated levels of criminal activity. But perhaps the biggest issue for residents is the near-constant threat of eviction and homelessness. 

The brief assembles research and legal aid providers’ insights on why many low-income Americans reside in this type of housing, as well as how motels often function as landlords without being held to the same legal standards. Legal aid interventions, existing protections and relevant case studies are also highlighted. 

LSC's Housing Task Force is documenting the challenges that low-income tenants and homeowners experience and the role of civil legal aid. Its first brief examined illegal evictions, the second brief covered manufactured housing and the final brief will look at problems around contracts for deeds.

Read the brief below.