The Idanha Housing Dilemma
by Elton LK
Like many other American cities, Boise has an affordable housing crisis. Democratic socialists believe everyone deserves affordable housing near where they work. We support public housing and community land trusts, but we know we will only win affordable housing by organizing as tenants and as single home families.
In the meantime, Section 8 housing puts a small, but important dent in the problem. In Boise a waitlist exists for more than 2000 units available at discounted rates for low-income families, the elderly and/or people with a disabling condition. The waitlist has been closed since June 2024 because it is so long. Section 8 housing is still precarious.
Last August Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority (BC/ACHA), which exists to provide affordable housing, terminated its contract with the property owner Parklane Property Management concerning their historic Idanha building. The terminated contract resulted in the displacement of 13 tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers. According to the reporting of BoiseDev, Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) identified the issues with the elevator upon performing their regular 5 year inspection in March 2025.
The inspector found the following violations with the elevator: it was slow, the emergency phone was broken, and there was no evidence that maintenance had been occurring since the prior inspection. BC/ACHA Executive Director Deanna Watson visited the Idanha a week later to find the elevator still in operation with no signage.
BC/ACHA gave Parklane Property Management until mid-May 2025 to pass inspection before withholding Section 8 payments. BC/ACHA withheld payments to Parklane Property Management while the elevator was out of compliance. Residents with mobility disabilities were unable to access or leave their apartments, so BC/ACHA gave residents the option to leave with financial assistance.
While Parklane Property Management was working with DOPL on the elevator, their wheelchair lift’s paperwork expired and failed inspection.
August 1, BC/ACHA ended the contract. By August 19 both the elevator and wheelchair lifts were fully operational and certified, far too late for the tenants whose lives were greatly impacted.
The wealthy are divided concerning the affordable housing crisis. Some want private property owners to profit off of government programs like the Section 8 Housing Voucher program. Others want to get rid of all government programs that help make Boise affordable for ordinary people. In both scenarios the property owners make a profit.
The free market is out of control. Downtown luxury condos are sitting empty as second (or third) homes and Airbnb’s, while most of us cannot afford to live close to where we work. Socialists are fighting for affordable housing independent from the broken free market. We will only win if we organize.
If you want to know more about how tenants can force their property owners to address their demands join Boise DSA at https://www.boisedsa.org or the Treasure Valley Tenants Union at https://www.boise.208tu.org