January 25, 2008

WHY RENT CONTROL DOESN'T WORK

As someone who works in the area of rent control, it is hard for me to understand why anyone would think rent control was good government policy.   Yet, too few people understand the basic economics which demonstrate that rent control does not help provide affordable housing.  For that reason, I wanted to link a 1998 opinion piece by Thomas Sowell, from the Jewish World Review: "Cutting Edge California retreats to old failed ideas"    It provides some historical context--demonstrating that rent control actually causes the loss of affordable housing.

 

 

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March 26, 2007

Jarvis Backs A New Property Rights Initiative

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is backing a new property rights initiative.  The initiative has some similarities to Proposition 90, but also has many differences.  It more clearly spells out limitations on rent control.  The initiative is supported by the California Alliance To Protect Property Rights, which has lots of useful background information on the inititative on its web site.  Much more on this later.

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May 23, 2006

Park Owner Has a Right to a "Taking" Trial in California

The City of Capitola is a text book example of how rent control ordinances have been used to confiscate private property by "the tyranny of the majority." Castle Mobilehome Park, in Capitola, is walking distance from the Santa Cruz boardwalk. It is located upon some of the most valuable real estate in America. Castle has space rents of $210.00 a month, about one-tenth of market rent. Thus, the City has confiscated 90 percent of the property value through rent control. The recent decision in Los Altos El Granada Investors v. City of Capitola holds that the City may face liability for that taking.

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April 13, 2006

Property Owner Not Damaged By 7 Years of Unconstitutional Rent Control

According to the California First District Court of Appeals, a property owner is not damaged by the enforcement of an illegal rent control law for seven years in which space rents were kept well below market. The park owner must first prove that the effect of this regulation was to deny the park owner a "just and reasonable return." That is the holding of the First District Court of Appeals in Hillsboro Properties v. Rohnert Park (April 6, 2006)

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January 29, 2006

Life After Lingle

The much anticipated decision in Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc. (U.S., 2005) 125 S. Ct. 2074 resulted in a unanimous Supreme Court decision, which held that the "failure to substantially advance" theory which formed the basis for the Ninth Circuit's decision was not a valid "takings" analysis. The decision was a blow to property rights supporters who previously could challenge land use enactments by showing that they did not "substantially advance" their intended purposes.

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