The Biden administration has become notorious for pushing clearly unconstitutional bureaucratic rules in hopes of causing maximum damage before the court system has time to work.
The White House’s “eviction moratorium” comes to mind. Thousands upon thousands of landlords were harmed by a federal power grab barring evictions of long-delinquent renters. Eventually, the Supreme Court stepped in to shut Biden down, but while the moratorium went away, many landlords were left financially ruined in the process.
Was there even an apology given to landlords who watched lifelong investments be destroyed by non-paying renters that squatted for years on end in some states? Of course, there wasn’t. The White House just moved on to the next thing, and apparently, the next thing is more ridiculous federal rules dealing with rental properties.
White House expected to roll out new rules “promoting grace periods for late rents and the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction,” per @KatyODonnell_
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) January 24, 2023
The White House is preparing to roll out new measures as soon as this month to protect tenants in the wake of post-pandemic price spikes, according to housing advocates and industry lobbyists who have met with administration officials.
The actions — which will come even as rents have started to fall around the country — could include promoting grace periods for late rents and the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, among other steps, advocates say.
Do you know what the grace period for late rent is? It’s a month. If someone can’t meet their next rent payment, they should tell their landlord and make arrangements to either allow late payment or to vacate the premises. I understand the need for people to have housing, but a rental unit is not charity. It very often is backed by a mortgage that must be paid on time, never mind the many other costs associated with the rental properties (maintenance, utilities, taxes, etc.).
I know that saying that makes me sound cold-hearted, but the reality is that you can’t have a rental housing market if the government steps in and says that landlords must provide “grace periods” outside of their control for people who refuse to pay their rent. And who is going to pay for this supposed “right” to counsel to fight evictions? That would be the taxpayers, I’d assume. If someone wants to destroy the housing market, tying up landlords in lengthy, costly lawsuits is a good way to do it.
Expectedly, Democrats in congress actually think Biden isn’t going far enough.
“People can’t afford to live,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who spearheaded a letter last week with Warren calling on President Joe Biden to issue an executive action limiting rent hikes in properties backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage financiers. “We want to push the president as far as possible to lighten the burden of rent on everyday people.”
Democrats want the administration to enact new restrictions on rent hikes and punish landlords they accuse of price-gouging — “not just principles, not just guidelines, but what can the president do through executive action to lighten the burden on people and put more money in their pockets,” Bowman said in an interview.
These people are idiots, and I don’t mean that as a partisan insult. I mean that in the most technical way possible. These people truly have no idea what they are talking about and would see the country burn to the ground to soothe their political fantasies.
A government-backed mortgage is still a mortgage that must be paid. It does not mean that a landlord owns his or her property (as long as they are in good standing) any less than someone with a normal mortgage. To weaponize the mortgage system like that to legalize squatting in rentals would be catastrophic to the market.
Biden’s proposed rules wouldn’t just apply to government-backed mortgages, though. They would be sweeping regulations that apply to all landlords. The result is that you own your property, but you don’t really own your property.
If that were to become a reality, most investors would stop building and refurbishing new rental units. Further, current landlords will simply up their standards for renters, icing out low-income individuals who pose a risk. That’s bad news for a country that is already seeing a shortage as interest rates explode due to the administration’s terrible economic policies. But hey, at least Biden is consistent. He’s always going to do the absolute worst thing at the worst possible time.
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