White House Seeks Affordable Housing Plans
The president called for legislation that would cap rent increases and federal agencies to focus on repurposing federal properties for affordable housing.
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Congress and federal agencies to take steps to help reduce housing costs.
Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Congress and federal agencies to take steps to help reduce housing costs.
Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that would cap rent increases of existing units at 5% and for federal agencies to sustainably repurpose public land and rehabilitate distressed housing.
NAR Responds to Rent Control Plan
WASHINGTON – National Association of Realtors® President Kevin Sears issued the following statement in response to the Biden Administration’s rent control plan:
"NAR opposes misguided attempts to cap or control rental rates. Price controls may seem appealing, but they have backfired on local governments and harmed the people we need to help the most. Developers are reluctant to build in areas where the government imposes rent controls on new buildings, and these policies actually decrease the supply of low- to mid-range housing units. We can protect the most vulnerable by supporting targeted assistance to renters and housing providers when there is a gap between rising wages and rising rent. But the long-term solution remains increasing supply. We need more than 328,000 new apartment units each year just to keep up with demand — that’s 4.3 million units by 2035.
"Rent control is a rare instance where the research is fairly conclusive: It doesn’t work. These measures fail to improve most renters' financial situation and shift the burden of economic difficulties, inflation, and other costs onto the housing provider with no counterbalance. NAR has advocated for federal legislation and policies such as YIMBY and Neighborhood Homes Investment Act to help eliminate discriminatory land use policies and remove barriers that weaken housing production in the United States. The only way to keep cities affordable for working-class families is to ensure that the supply of housing keeps pace with the growing demand."
"Families deserve housing that's affordable – it's part of the American Dream," Biden said in a statement. "Rent is too high and buying a home is out of reach for too many working families and young Americans, after decades of failure to build enough homes. I'm determined to turn that around."
The legislation Biden proposed would require landlords to keep annual rent increases to no more than 5% or lose access to faster depreciation write-offs beginning this year and extending through 2026.
The administration said the Federal Housing Finance Agency will also announce new actions to protect families renting residence financed by federal Fannie May and Freddie Mac loans. Those include requiring a 30-day notice before rent increases, 30-day notice for lease expirations, and providing a five-day grace period before imposing late fees on rental payments.
Biden also called on federal agencies to assess surplus federal land with the aim of repurposing it to build more affordable housing, pledging to work with agencies, land disposition authorities and agencies providing tools for needed infrastructure to quickly provide new housing.
As part of this effort, the Bureau of Land Management opened public comment on a sale of 20 acres of public land to Clark County, Nevada, at $100 per acre – below market value – to build about 150 homes for households that earn less than 80% of the median income in the area.
It is also considering the sale of an additional 562.5 acres of public land in the Las Vegas Valley designated as appropriate for affordable housing that would support construction of up to 15,000 more affordable rental and owned units in the state.
Copyright 2024 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.
would cap rent increases of existing units at 5% and for federal agencies to sustainably repurpose public land and rehabilitate distressed housing.
"Families deserve housing that's affordable – it's part of the American Dream," Biden said in a statement. "Rent is too high and buying a home is out of reach for too many working families and young Americans, after decades of failure to build enough homes. I'm determined to turn that around."
The legislation Biden proposed would require landlords to keep annual rent increases to no more than 5% or lose access to faster depreciation write-offs beginning this year and extending through 2026.
The administration said the Federal Housing Finance Agency will also announce new actions to protect families renting residence financed by federal Fannie May and Freddie Mac loans. Those include requiring a 30-day notice before rent increases, 30-day notice for lease expirations, and providing a five-day grace period before imposing late fees on rental payments.
Biden also called on federal agencies to assess surplus federal land with the aim of repurposing it to build more affordable housing, pledging to work with agencies, land disposition authorities and agencies providing tools for needed infrastructure to quickly provide new housing.
As part of this effort, the Bureau of Land Management opened public comment on a sale of 20 acres of public land to Clark County, Nevada, at $100 per acre – below market value – to build about 150 homes for households that earn less than 80% of the median income in the area.
It is also considering the sale of an additional 562.5 acres of public land in the Las Vegas Valley designated as appropriate for affordable housing that would support construction of up to 15,000 more affordable rental and owned units in the state.
Copyright 2024 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.