One of the many concerns that shook out of the pandemic is the rising cost of rent. Tenants have been making noise about it over the past three years. It looks like it’s coming to a head at the state level with a number of laws backing tenants or landlords with no in-betweens.
Here’s Five Fast Facts Tenant-Landlord Laws:
- 🏚️ Mr. Roper - Turns out 46 million Americans, or a third of all US households, are renters. The average rent has risen 18% between 2017 and 2022.
- 🏡 Fred and Ethel - Those numbers may be only interesting on the surface, but they also show something interesting: more state lawmakers are now renters. In the past, renters have been underrepresented in all levels of government, leading to policies that favor homeowners.
- 🏠 Mr. Heckles - Those numbers are indicating a policy shift. Studies show that Democratic lawmakers who rent are more likely to back tenant protections than those who are homeowners. New York found out the hard way.
- ⚖️Mr. Furley - Red states tend to back landlords, with laws that remove tenant protections. Florida and Texas passed measures that eliminate rent control and eviction protections, among other laws.
- 🤷 Mr. Fischoeder - Before you bust out the “AKSHULLY,” a political majority does not mean they’re going to immediately back renters or landlords. Rent control laws in Connecticut and Maryland failed and both states have Democratic majorities and governors. Oklahoma has an anti-rent control bill that also never got off the ground.
🔥Bottom line: The national red state/blue state divide continues, this time with renters and landlords. It will be interesting to see how this split carries out as more and more renters become elected officials. You also have to wonder if this divide can be softened in any part of the country.
Do you rent or own a home?
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