Brown Presses Acting HUD Secretary to Fix Conditions at Ashland Manor and Covenant House

Download Production Quality Footage of Senator Brown's Exchange HERE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, pushed Department of Housing and Urban Development Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman to commit to work with the City of Toledo to fix the conditions at Ashland Manor and Covenant House in Toledo and to hold the landlords accountable.

"You and I have talked about two HUD-assisted properties in Toledo that the city cited for deplorable conditions: Ashland Manor and Covenant House. I demanded that HUD cooperate with Toledo officials to fix this situation. HUD's been working with the City of Toledo," said Brown. "Will you commit in front of this committee publicly to continuing to work with the city to see the job through and to fix the conditions at Ashland Manor and Covenant House, and to hold the landlords accountable?"

"Absolutely and I made that commitment to the mayor of Toledo as well myself," said Todman.

"And I'll be holding you to that. It never should have gotten to this situation. No one should have to live that way," said Brown.

Brown has continuously pushed HUD to work with local leaders in Toledo to address the unsafe and unhealthy conditions at Covenant House and Ashland Manor. Brown has also joined with local leaders to push HUD to work with stakeholders to ensure that the landlords address reports of dangerous conditions quickly and comprehensively at both properties -- and fulfill their obligations to maintain these and any HUD properties as safe, affordable housing going forward.

In March, Brown introduced Affordable Housing Preservation and Protection Act of 2024which would allow HUD to provide loans to qualified owners of distressed HUD-assisted housing to make renovations necessary to preserve and improve the property for the long term. It will also give HUD new tools to locate well-qualified new owners to preserve a property without displacing residents from the community.

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