Jackson, Miss. Considering Rent Control

The Jackson City Council is considering setting limits on rent increases for elderly tenants after an 80-year-old woman complained her rent jumped from $300 to $600 a month this past May.

"My rent-man has really harassed me," said Carrie Brown of 142 Taylor St. "This house is in bad shape. It's not worth $600."

From this morning's (8/05) Clarion-Ledger, an editorial:

[snip]
Housing

'Rent control' is not the solution

Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes is barking up the wrong tree by calling for "rent control" to keep the city's elderly tenants from facing unreasonably high rents.

Rather, citizens' awareness of their rights and a greater push by the city for affordable housing would do far more.

First: Rent control doesn't work. Wherever it has been instituted, all it has done is artificially keep rent down while pushing investment and affordable housing away.

As with any other commodity, the laws of supply and demand apply. If a landlord charges too high a rent, the property won't be rented; if too low (as with rent control), it's not worth it to put the property out for rent.

If a landlord cannot get a decent return on the investment, the property will be converted for other uses or abandoned. So, artificial price constraints have the consequence of reducing the properties available for rent and raising prices outside of the controlled area.

The idea of rent control should be dropped. Rather, the city should adopt a two-pronged approach:

Citizen awareness. In 1991, the Legislature passed the Landlord-Tenant Act which outlines the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Not only does the act outline what and how repairs should be conducted, what tenants can expect regarding housing, and what the law requires, but it also outlines procedures regarding eviction and notice of payments due.

Citizens are not "victims" when it comes to housing. They have rights — and obligations. This law took years to pass, hammered out to protect citizens, and it is workable.

Greater push for affordable housing. When Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. was elected to his first term, he pledged that decent, affordable housing would be a top concern. In his first four years in office, Johnson made progress on this, working the Department of Housing and Urban Development, non-profits and neighborhood groups, but the initiative could use a push, maybe reformulation.

The city had a setback with a freeze on federal money for housing rehabilitation that resulted from a dispute with HUD over the city's repair work from 1995-96.

If the Council wants to truly help people, especially the elderly, it will review the city's acquisition, construction and rehabilitation efforts and work from there.

The goal of providing decent, affordable housing should remain a top city priority — not rent control.

[/snip]

It looks like someone at our liberal paper has actually read an economics textbook. I'm shocked!

FYI, as of this morning, my father and I have informed the Clarion-Ledger of the best reason to oppose rent control--it's illegal! (see my post #78, above).

We'll see what comes of all this.

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