An alternative to rent control

[Boojatta]

Instead of trying to directly control monthly rental fees, why not offer subsidies to owners of future affordable residential units that are currently not residential or that have not yet been built?

The owner of a unit will receive subsidy money associated with a given unit only while the unit is actually being rented as a residence. So there will be an incentive to create affordable units that people actually want to rent and to make potential renters aware of the units.

People need to eat. There are farm subsidies. Are retail food prices regulated in the USA?

[Big Kahuna]

1. My experience has been that no one gives a shit about renters...

Democrat or Republican.

[oscar111]

12. Progressive dems care.. DINO's may not,

you are right there.

Progressive dems care. Huey Long ended the practice of selling farms at auctions if the owner was too poor to pay land tax. Grapes of Wrath showed how it was before... bulldozing the home.

That step by a p. dem, saved many a home for farmers.

listen to the George Mason U. site voice clip of huey long.. might be in the History Project website.. not sure where i heard it.

[Betsy Ross]

2. I think you are talking about Section 8 housing. n/t

[Boojatta]

3. I don't think I am talking about Section 8 housing

"A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family's choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program."

Source:
http://www.hud.gov/about/section8.cfm

I am suggesting that:

1. The renter wouldn't need a voucher.
2. The owner would apply for the subsidy.
3. The subsidy would not apply to already existing residential units.

Also, the program would probably be more expensive than the current section 8 system and it would become more expensive as more subsidized units are created. However, just as there are jobs related to farming, there are jobs related to housing: maintenance, security, etc.

[Robson]

17. The problem is......

In years past poverty and crime were not as connected at the hip as they are now. In the Great Depression people were poor, but they didn't accept and tolerate the criminal activity that often accompanies poor (especially urban) today. My experience has been that Section 8 housing almost always results in increases in criminal activity, and often significant increases in such activity. That's a major reason why many oppose Section 8 in their community. I agree with some that there has been a breakdown in family that has been a major factor in this. Young children must be taught values of respect and love very early on, and they aren't getting that in far too many cases. The problem is how to correct it.

[WestSeattle2]

4. I'm totally ignorant about rent control....

What was the intent? Has it worked? What are the downsides? I've only heard of rent control used in New York, is that true?

[Boojatta]

5. "What are the downsides?"

Theoretically, one would expect rent control to reduce the incentive for future creation of residential units. If we forecast a weakening of future supply of residential units for rent, then we also forecast an increase in future rental costs. Those who have rent controlled housing would be partly or totally protected from these increases in rental costs, but we would expect other renters to face higher rental costs. We would also expect there to be extremely low vacancy rates.

The analysis of detailed statistical information would probably not make for a very lively forum thread.

[Solo_in_MD]

7. While many have benefited

They were not necessarily always those who needed it. There is no means testing so in NYC and elsewhere there are a number poster children for the anti rent control faction.

Clearly affordable rental housing is dwindling, esp in the larger cities. In a capitalist system, we need incentives to insure it remains. Right now the general approach is the stick, not carrot, and unsurprisingly in the long run that has proved to be counter productive.

Something needs to be done, but no one seems to have a viable approach yet.

[Boojatta]

6. A simpler idea: treat income received from renting out affordable

residential units the way that capital gains are treated. In other words, reduce the income tax payable on that kind of income.

[sandnsea]

8. Low-Income Housing Tax Credit

Maybe you mean a program like this one...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-Income_Housing_Tax_Credit

[Boojatta]

9. The article says

The imputed income an owner receives from an investment in owner-occupied housing has always escaped taxation (...)

Is that true? That seems rather odd. What's the point in having public school teachers praise the risk-reducing benefits of diversifying an investment portfolio if tax law creates an incentive for many people to concentrate a large percentage of their savings in one particular asset?

[Boojatta]

10. Also from the article

The LIHTC directly subsidizes the development costs of low-income housing. To qualify, a project must sign a Land Use Restriction Agreement (LURA) guaranteeing a minimum of 15 years with either:

At least 20 % or more of the residential units in the development are both rent restricted and occupied by individuals whose income is 50 % or less of the area median gross income
At least 40 % or more of the residential units in the development are both rent restricted and occupied by individuals whose income is 60 % or less of the area median gross income

What if an individual's income varies? If there is a long waiting period, then might some people who are unable to maintain fairly constant income levels experience a temporary income fluctuation that will disqualify them?

Among all individuals who qualify, how do they select the individuals who will get an opportunity to rent units at restricted rent levels?

[oscar111]

11. Nationalize all housing

end all landlording. LL's are an unplesant presence in the nerves of renters.

we must eventually end LLing.

if we want a good mental state for the poor.

Nationalize, then place ownership in the hands of the residents of housing.

pay the mom and pop LL's for the housing's value, so they dont suffer.. they are often ok folks. Well, sometimes maybe LOL they are nice.

PS "the rentier class" is another term for ll's you might see here and there.

LL's are a very bad idea when you design a society from scratch. No sane person would invent them in his effort to design a good society.

[Boojatta]

14. How could your idea be tested? It sounds like a unique event rather than

something that could be gradually introduced.

If people were given warning, then would you expect some renters to get loans and rent luxury accommodations? Typically, if a particular hypothetical future event would be good, then do you expect advance notice of the event to be good, bad, or neutral?

Nationalize, then place ownership in the hands of the residents of housing.

When young adults wanted to move from college dorms or from the homes of their parents, would they need enough money to buy a home?

Suppose you were offered six months of work, a thousand miles from where you currently live. If you wanted to accept the job offer, then would you need to buy a home close to the job? If there were lots of homes for sale near the job, but few buyers, then would you reject the job offer because of the risk of owning a home you couldn't sell?

Would people inherit housing? Who would get ownership when the current resident dies?

[anewdeal]

15. Stealing would work for one generation

but what would provide incentives for housing to be provided for the poor later on?

[oscar111]

13. HUEY LONG SPEAKS on housing, etc

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5109

try this.. a recording of the great man himself. Riviting.

[Boojatta]

16. Thread kick to emphasize a point already made and to give easy access

to a thread about a topic that is currently being discussed elsewhere on DU.

A point already made that I think deserves emphasis:

A simpler idea: treat income received from renting out affordable
residential units the way that capital gains are treated. In other words, reduce the income tax payable on that kind of income.

Note: the preferential tax treatment could help make some individuals wealthy. It would reward individuals who contribute to solving the problem of affordable housing.

[charleslb]

18. An Alternative to Capitalism

What we the people need to do is to start working on an alternative to capitalism, and pronto!

http://www.thetotalrevolutionproject.com