Last November, voters in St. Paul approved a measure to impose rent control on housing producers. The law went into effect on May 1, and the results are precisely what should have been expected. In March, before the law was in effect, building permits for multi-family housing were down 80 percent from November 2021 to…
In a stunning, though not surprising, display of the Progressive framework in action, a coalition of more than 220 housing activists has called for Biden to enact national rent control. They encouraged the President to “regulate rent through every available authority” as a part of the Administration’s efforts to reduce inflation. The coalition wants the…
To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, try to control those who can.” Cea Weaver, a housing activists at New York’s Housing Justice for All is a prime example. Weaver has been a leading voice for tenant “protections” in New York, including a “rent stabilization” law—a euphemism for price controls—passed…
In the few months since St. Paul’s draconian rent control law went into effect, landlords, tenants, government officials, and housing activists have all expressed displeasure and confusion with the ordinance. The latest confusion revolves around the process to appeal for a rent increase greater than that allowed by law. And it illustrates the subjective nature…
Attorney and housing activist Randy Shaw provides an interesting example of an unprincipled approach to housing policy. In a piece titled “Upzoning and Rent Control: A Perfect Match,” Shaw proposes giving property owners a tad more freedom at the same time government is tying their hands. Upzoning is the process of modifying a city’s zoning…
Atlanta has joined a growing list of cities and states considering a “Tenant’s Bill of Rights.” Contrary to the claims of the proponents of such laws, the proposed law is more accurately a bill of wrongs. Among the provisions in Atlanta’s bill of wrongs are: A right to counsel in eviction hearings Rent “stabilization,” also…
In late March, the Montclair (New Jersey) Property Owners Association reached a compromise with city officials over a rent control ordinance the city passed in 2020. Landlords had petitioned for a referendum on the ordinance. As a part of the compromise, landlords agreed to withdraw their petition. Landlords may think that the compromise serves their…
Last November, voters in St. Paul approved the most stringent rent control law in the nation. This past week, a Minnesota Senator introduced a bill that would repeal that law and prohibit other municipalities from imposing rent control. This is an appropriate bill because rights, including property rights, are not subject to a vote. The…
Lawmakers and political activists like to frame their policy proposals in terms that hide their real meaning. An example of this is a proposal in Colorado to impose “rent stabilization” on mobile home parks. Rent stabilization is nothing more than a euphemism for theft. The bill would require park owners to pay up to $30,000…
Last week, a judge ordered New York State to reopen its portal for rental assistance. The portal was shut down in November. On one hand, the state is dawdling in its efforts to provide relief to tenants (and by extension landlords) impacted by the pandemic. On the other hand, with its eviction moratorium and other…
Activists are more than happy to spend money on their pet projects. That money, however, isn’t their own—it comes from taxpayers. So, it is quite easy for them to put your money where their mouth is. An organization in Portland, Taking Ownership, is putting its money and efforts where its mouth is. Taking Ownership is…
City council members in Boulder are pushing for more housing. At a recent meeting, they demonstrated that they are a major obstacle to that occurring. A developer wants to build fifty-nine new homes on a parcel of land. Fourteen will be townhomes with a price tag of $2.4 million. The developer is required to include…