In Canada, as in the United States, single-family zoning is under attack. Canadian columnist Terence Corcoran (who labels himself as a member of the “libertarian school of economic thought”) argues, “Zoning should be treated as a fundamental aspect of property rights.” In truth, zoning is a fundamental violation of property rights. The right to property…
In my book, The Affordable Housing Crisis: Causes and Cures, I examine many different policies that have impacted the affordability of housing in the United States, including single-family zoning and federal highway policies. One policy that I did not examine, but which has a significant impact on housing, is minimum parking requirements. CNN reports that…
An editorial by the New York Daily News Editorial Board provides an example of the nonsense that can be written when principles are abandoned. In the piece, the board agrees with the idea that rent control exacerbates the problems it is allegedly intended to remedy. It then cautions the Supreme Court, which may be considering…
Howard Husock, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, uses data from the Census Bureau to illustrate how rent control is “shabbifying” New York City’s rental housing. The bureau’s data shows: The bureau’s report states that housing quality declined across all housing types, but it is too “early to know if this was a…
On Monday, we examined Elon Musk’s claim that working from home is “morally wrong.” Such a claim derives from a lack of conceptual clarity. Musk is hardly alone. Today, we will examine a claim that a home mortgage is a form of rent control. Mark Paul, an assistant professor of economics at Rutgers, writes, Some…
One’s credit score determines one’s ability to obtain loans at favorable rates. Those with a higher credit score are deemed to pose fewer risks. Over time, they have demonstrated the ability to borrow judiciously and pay back their loans. Those with less stellar credit scores haven’t. But now, the Biden administration wants to punish those…
Progressive Regressive “journalist” Patrick Range McDonald informs us that renters paid a total of $512 billion to landlords in 2019. This, he wants us to believe, is evidence of “corporate landlord greed.” Certainly, that’s a lot of money. However, it proves nothing other than McDonald’s inability to consider the full context. In doing so, he…
The Washington, D.C. Rental Housing Commission recently approved a rent increase of 8.9 percent based on the rate of inflation. Many tenants and activists are upset about the increase, with one arguing that “landlords have been getting inflation plus 2% for years, so why hasn’t it been enough?” This same tenant asserted that her landlord…
In November 2021, voters in St. Paul approved one of the nation’s most stringent rent control laws. The law was later amended to loosen the controls slightly. However, that did little to motivate the construction of new housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports that building permits in St. Paul fell…
In November 2021, voters in Minneapolis asked city leaders to explore the implementation of rent control. Last week, a city staff report was released. The report recommended against the 3 percent cap on rent increases that a group of landlords and tenants had suggested. The report concludes that the cost to the city from imposing…
Few people deny that America has a severe shortage of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households. While there is agreement that a problem exists, there is little agreement about a remedy. Government officials at every level, along with housing advocates, frequently put forth a variety of policy proposals in an attempt to address the…
Rent control hasn’t even taken effect in Boston, and already the consequences of rent control are being felt. Banker and Tradesman reports that building permits in Boston declined 94 percent between 2021 and 2022. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and others have claimed that rent control will not lead to less new housing construction, despite what…