The government can’t do or build anything.
Get rid of zoning and the building departments and just like Houston construction will bloom.
Rent control on commercial property? This is totally communist
“Commercial landlords would no longer have the power to set their own rents, to evict undesirable tenants, to determine deposit amounts, etc. The property would remain formally titled to them, but they would in effect lose control of it.
This is an example of what Robert Higgs calls “regime uncertainty,” which does not describe the rise and fall of governments but rather the security of property rights. Mayor de Blasio and other Democrats would argue that they are not depriving landlords of their property rights, only subjecting them to regulation in the public interest. But the changes proposed represent a fundamental shift in the nature of those property rights, away from property owners and toward political actors — the prior regime of property rights ceases to exist. A landlord who cannot set his own rent may still own his property on paper, as does a corporation that cannot determine for itself the composition of its board, but ownership no longer means what it did.”
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Even Taxachussets banned rent control. Time to ban it here.
Well, Newsom is not going to be very supportive unfortunately. Since a total ban is just a pipe dream, I would like to see some baby steps in at least making rent control more equitable and certainly 21st century worthy.
My kid goes to a private school. Its not cheap. There is another family whose kid also goes to that same private school. That family lives in a rent controlled apartment, and I see them “gloating” about the dirt cheap price they pay for that apartment all the time on social media. As well, on social media, I see what rent control allows for that family to do — one of the adults is underemployed, and they spend $$$$ all the time on fancy gadgets, electronics, impulse purchases, and concerts and events. These are all things that I don’t spend on because no one is subsidizing my living costs.
The worst part about it all is that that family doesn’t even acknowledge that they are living an easier and better lifestyle because someone else is subsidizing their living costs. They think that they deserve it.
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So why hasn’t the landlord Ellis acted them out? I suppose that landlord is also responsible for this insanity.
Come on, an owner should not have to essentially get out of the business in order to respond to the abuse…
Can do 1031 exchange…
Again, why should an owner have to do that???
That’s the only way to lawfully escape rent control.
The building is a big building with many units and the landlord is a big commercial entity. Sometimes the family in question complains about exorbitant housing prices and they daydream about owning their own house one day.
Of course, when I suggest that they look @ the west side b/c of the “cheaper” asking prices, they recoil in horror at the fog and the distance that characterizes housing on the west side, and act all smug about their living arrangements on the east side.
So I suppose the landlord also benefits from this arrangement.
Tell them that at the west side at least they don’t have to deal with the homeless…
Which is why I am a big proponent of attacking the rent control laws head on and modifying them. In an ideal world I want it gone, but I would settle for modifications that not only improve conditions for both owner and renter alike but actually are fair and liveable if that is possible. If actual costs of doing business goes up 5% in a year, how is it logical to not allow the owner to pass that along to the renter?
Man, that would piss me off big time. Hence why means testing again, the Holy Grail, needs to be implemented in rent control laws. It may not help with this family since their income is what it is but it still sounds like there is some objectionable abuse that could be cut out with better laws. Someone who makes 6 figures for example should not be allowed to own a rent controlled apt. Better yet, if you own a piece of real estate anywhere in the area/state/us you can not have a rent controlled apartment. Wow, that would be fair.
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On the open market, that unit they are in would rent for at least $6500 / month. They are paying less than 1/3 that.