(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On July 16, President Joe Biden urged Congress to enact a national rent control policy.
Biden unveiled the proposed legislation while speaking at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Nevada. It would require corporate landlords owning more than 50 rental housing units to cap annual rent increases at 5 percent or face losing some tax benefits. According to the White House, the legislation would affect over 20 million rental units across the United States. The proposal would not cover rental housing units that have not been built yet.
He also proposed using public land in the state for up to 15,000 affordable housing units, providing $10,000 in mortgage relief, and building 200,000 new homes.
In a statement, Biden said the cost of “rent is too high,” promising to help provide solutions to the housing crisis facing “many working families and young Americans.” He called on Congress to pass his proposal “to lower housing costs for Americans who need relief now.”
Despite criticism of the plan, White House officials said the cap on rent would provide short-term relief to renters.
The National Tenant Union Federation director, Tara Raghuveer, said the proposal was “monumental,” adding, “Tenants need action. Congress must act.”
Despite some support from housing groups, other housing advocates voiced their disapproval of the proposal. The Mortgage Bankers Association, National Apartment Association, and National Multifamily Housing Council, said the proposed rent cap would backfire on those people who need it most. In a statement, the groups said the reason for high housing costs “is because we need to build more housing.”
The Rent Stabilization Association, a group of 25,000 landlords in New York City, opposed the plan, as the Association’s Executive Vice President, Frank Ricci, stated that attempts to cap rents in the city have been a “disaster for taxpayers,” adding new housing has not been created as a result of capping rents.
This was not the first time Biden had mentioned the plan. He also presented the idea during the NATO conference earlier in July.
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