NBC news reports that in early 2020 the Trump administration gave $100 million to a federal agency for the purpose of fixing the supply chain of COVID medical supplies. At the time, the agency was run by a college friend of the President’s son-in-law. As of the time of the report in mid-November, no money…
Conservatives have been attacking Biden’s suggestion that single-family zoning laws be eliminated or relaxed. They frequently call this a war on the suburbs, which is completely inaccurate. More significantly, the conservative argument is itself an attack on property rights. Tucker Carlson serves as an example. Tucker takes exception to the claim that zoning has been…
A recent article on The Conversation asserts that “building more homes won’t solve the affordable housing problem for the millions of people who need it most.” While the authors acknowledge that we need more housing, they don’t believe that this is a sufficient solution. The authors present numerous facts to bolster their argument, but these…
Legislators in New York are considering a “just cause” eviction bill that opponents have labeled Lease for Life. The bill would prohibit landlords from evicting a tenant as long as the tenant pays the rent, isn’t intentionally damaging the property, and isn’t subletting or violating the lease. The bill would also subject most rental housing in…
One of the increasingly popular tactics that cities are using to address America’s housing shortage is to relax or eliminate single-family zoning (SFZ), also known as exclusionary zoning. Some of those same cities are also starting to use a different form of zoning—inclusionary zoning—to address the housing shortage. In short, this means shifting from mandatory…
Cindy Tucker runs a nonprofit in Calhoun, Georgia, called Tiny House Up. She wants to build tiny houses—about 600 square feet—to help address the city’s housing shortage. But the city won’t let her because its regulations require a minimum lot size of about 11,000 square feet and houses must be at least 1,150 square feet….
It is easy to find things about California’s government to criticize. While the legislature hasn’t done a U-turn and reversed all of its rights-violating laws, they have recently taken steps in the right direction. SB9 and SB10 restored a little freedom to property owners by allowing for greater housing density. And on October 1, Gov….
In September, California passed SB 10, which allows cities to “upzone” and permit greater housing density in neighborhoods previously zoned for single-family homes. A “housing justice” organization, AHF, has filed a lawsuit that asserts “allowing legislators to override zoning restrictions violates the constitutional right of initiative by allowing local government to repeal or disregard initiative…
An opinion piece in the San Bernardino Sun essentially claims that zoning is an application of property rights: When someone “owns” property, they own a “bundle” of ancillary rights. Bundle of rights is a term for a group of legal privileges granted to the owner at the time of purchase. The bundle contains ownership. Right…
An article at MultiHousingNews.com examines Biden’s proposals for addressing the housing shortage, and concludes, In the end, the affordable housing problem is about money. To create housing that costs less, either the cost of construction must be reduced (not likely, given rising costs of land, materials and labor costs); developers must accept reduced profits (which…
In early September, New York extended its eviction moratorium to January 15, 2022. The state’s largest landlord group quickly challenged the law. The group said that the new moratorium made only superficial changes to a previous law that “crumbled” after a Supreme Court ruling. That ruling took issue with a part of the law that…
In October 2020, the Cambridge, Massachusetts, city council enacted a citywide 100 percent affordable housing overly (AHO). The AHO allows apartment buildings up to four stories in all neighborhoods in the city. However, all units must be permanently affordable to households earning up to 100% of area median income. The standard for affordability is paying…