Curbed NY - Christine Quinn, Hands Off Our Freakshow!Fact: The biggest joke in New York is the Rent Guidelines Board. Every year this nine-member panel gathers to hold a series of circus-like public hearings on rent increases (or, heh, decreases) for stabilized apartments. Every year, tenant … [Read more...]
Landlord Finally Free to Live in His Own Home
After battling in court since 2003, this family is finally able to turn their 60 room apartment building into one gigantic home for themselves. Of course, the beneficiaries of the rent-controlled apartments don't believe the owner's family should have the right to live in their own building.New … [Read more...]
Somin: Causes of the Defeat of Prop 98
Ilya Somin at Volokh - Causes of the Defeat of Proposition 98There were two major causes of Prop 98's defeat. One was the sponsors' mistake in combining the popular cause of restricting eminent domain with a far less popular phaseout of rent control. The second and more unusual cause of 98's … [Read more...]
Somin: Prop 99 Worse Than Nothing
Ilya Somin at Volokh: Why California's Proposition 99 is a Lot Worse than NothingYesterday's California returns show that Proposition 98 - the referendum initiative that would have imposed real restrictions on eminent domain and also phased out rent control - has been overwhelmingly defeated by … [Read more...]
Somin: Prop 98 Likely to Fail, 99 to Pass
Ilya Somin at Volokh: Polls on California Eminent Domain Ballot Initiatives Show Prop 98 Likely to Fail and Prop 99 Likely to Pass:In a recent Field Poll cited in the article, Proposition 98 was losing by 43 to 33 percent among "likely voters," while Proposition 99 was ahead by 48 to 30 … [Read more...]
Rent Control Part 4: Conclusion and Solutions
Welcome to the final post in the series discussing the consequences of rent control. Thank you to the subscribers who have patiently awaited each new post. I hope everyone found it enlightening. If you haven't read the entire series, you can catch up with these links: Rent Control Part One: … [Read more...]
Video: Both Sides of Proposition 98
With the referendum approaching, the debate over rent control is heating up in California. This video is pretty balanced in showing both sides. There are some memorable quotes, like "social security and pension plan would not pay the market rent, so I just wouldn't eat." I guess this guy values … [Read more...]
Rent Control Part 3: Mobility, Regional Growth, Development and Class Conflict
Part One of this series was a refresher on the Microeconomics of Rent Control and touched on how it encourages hoarding Part Two discussed rent controls influence on the black market for apartments, rental property deterioration and housing discrimination. Here in Part Three, we will discuss how … [Read more...]