The American Tax Reform Association, the Heritage Foundation and more than 30 other conservative groups announced their opposition to Vice President Kamala Harris' rent control proposal on Tuesday, according to information obtained exclusively by Breitbart News.
Harris in mid-August Copied President Joe Biden's rent control proposal would cap rent increases nationwide at 5% over the next two years for all landlords with 50 or more units.
In letters obtained by Breitbart News, conservatives told lawmakers and state attorneys general that rent control proposals would do more harm than good by drying up the supply of affordable rental housing in many cities.
9-3-24 – ATR Coalition Letter Against Housing Price Controls by Jamanship On Scribd
The coalition writes, “Even Swedish socialist economist Assar Lindbeck once said: 'In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient means of destroying cities as we know them, short of bombing.'”
The coalition's letter noted that the city of San Francisco, California, has already tried a proposal essentially identical to the one Harris wants to enact, with disastrous results.
Nationwide rent control and further restrictions on housing providers would lead to a sharp decline in new housing, affordable rental properties being converted to AirBnB or sold as condos, millions of at-risk tenants being denied housing (likely exacerbating urban homelessness), and higher rents overall.
NBER survey Revealed The expansion of rent control in San Francisco in 1994 encouraged landlords to convert their properties into condominiums and cooperative rentals. Instead of encouraging affordable housing, Government Encouraged Go away and convert from there.
This study also Found Rent control has led to a 5.1 percent increase in rents citywide. Many of the existing tenants are facing low rents. Otherwise, you will be staying in the apartment for a long time. This reduces the supply of rent-controlled properties to potential tenants, thereby increasing the prices of other properties that are not rent-controlled. [Emphasis added]
“In Cambridge, Massachusetts, where rent control was abolished, economists found that direct investment in housing doubled in just a few years,” the conservative leaders added.
They cite another study that found that “a doubling of the number of rent-controlled housing units in a city is associated with a 16.2 percent increase in severely under-housed housing and a 14.7 percent increase in moderately under-housed housing.”
Breitbart News' John Carney and Alex Marlowe wrote in July Written According to Breitbart Business Digest, these types of rent control proposals are not serious calls for Congress to implement them, but rather merely attempts to buy votes.
Fortunately, this proposal is unlikely to become law. Because the depreciation tax schedule is set by law, Congress would need to pass Biden's national rent control plan.
Of course, it is not intended to actually become law. This is yet another cynical attempt by the Biden administration to buy votes from renters suffering from the rising home prices caused by its own policies. The administration lacks a serious policymaking machinery and has instead relied on political machinations disguised as public policy.
“National rent control and price controls (such as banning pricing algorithms) will make housing even more expensive,” the conservatives concluded in a letter to lawmakers and state attorneys general. “Despite a mountain of evidence against implementing price controls, politicians cannot resist telling voters that they can simply lower prices without any consequences. We urge lawmakers and state attorneys general to oppose and fight against these dangerous efforts in the housing industry.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter. Sean Moran 3.
