Informal Homeownership in the United States and the Law

Abstract:     
This article examines how millions of lower-income families in the United States attempt to acquire title to their homes informally, outside the mortgage market and instead through mechanisms such as lease-to-own contracts and intestacy. Many of these families are left holding inferior and insecure title to their homes - if they hold title at all. The article explores the benefits and pitfalls of informal homeownership and the legal structures that perpetuate disparities between formal and informal homeownership. The article then proposes a series of legal reforms to help ensure that the American legal system provides lower-income families with better opportunities to obtain secure title to their homes.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 80

Keywords: affordable housing, community development, title, property, homeownership

Accepted Paper Series