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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration may turn thousands of government-owned foreclosures into rental properties to help boost falling home prices.

A major furniture rental chain has software on its computers that lets it track the keystrokes,screenshots and even webcam images of customers while they use the devices at home, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Wyoming couple who said they learned about the PC Rental Agent "device and/or software" inside the computer they rented last year when an Aaron's Inc. store manager in Casper came to their home on Dec. 22. The manager tried to repossess the computer because he mistakenly believed the couple hadn't finished paying for it, the couple said....

SANTA CRUZ - A judge Thursday asked Santa Cruz city attorneys to research a new issue raised by a property owner challenging the city's rental inspection ordinance. The Santa Cruz City Council passed an ordinance in September requiring owners of rental properties to register their units and eventually submit to inspection, and to pay fees for that. The law was written in part due to an agreement with UC Santa Cruz to prevent unsafe housing conditions and control student growth. Watsonville anti-tax advocate Harold Griffith sued the city days later, claiming the ordinance violates equal protection of law standards by...

Posted: SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Political activist Harold Griffith is challenging the city's new residential rental inspection program in court. Both sides will appear before a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge Wednesday morning for a case management conference. According to the law, rental property owners would be required to register with the city – either for city inspection or self-certification. In court documents, Griffith argues the program violates equal protection rights because it doesn't require inspection for all rentals. The ordinance, which passed last fall, states there are some exceptions, including "rooms rented to single individuals in an owner-occupied...

Several years ago the City of Hutchinson, Kansas, told a federal judge that the city shouldn't be forced to install the sidewalk ramps for wheelchairs required by federal law because it couldn't afford to do so. Since that time the city has given money to a large corporation and spent money on a hiking trail among other things. The city could find money for a hiking trail for the able-bodied but not sidewalks so those with mobility problems could get to the store. Now the hypocritical city staff is trying to convince the city council that people would be required...

SAN ANTONIO - Deborah Gonzalez says she is pretty heated with Hertz Rent A Car on San Pedro Avenue. Gonzales and her family say they found a loaded gun in a car they rented last week. "I was horrified," said Gonzalez. "I couldn't even speak. I broke down crying because there was a loaded gun in my hands, and I don't know where it came from." Gonzalez says she was riding in the car with her 2-year-old and 3-year-old grandchildren. She stumbled across the gun while picking up a child's shoe that fell under the driver's seat. "I kept yanking,...

Obama's Winter White House an Illegal RentalBy Adrienne LaFrance 01/05/2011 President Barack Obama's two-week stay at his Hawaii Winter White House was illegal under a long-standing Honolulu ban on short-term rentals. Obama did not break the law by staying at the house, but the property owner who rented his house to the Obamas does not have the permit that would allow a stay of fewer than 30 days. Glenn Weinberg, the owner of the Kailua estate, told Civil Beat that it was legal for him to rent to the president for a short stay because he kept the home empty...

WASHINGTON — The gap between the cost of renting a modest apartment and the wages of working families continues to widen, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "Out of Reach 2010" paints a gloomy picture for the nation's nearly 38 million renters, who make up a third of U.S. households. On average, a family must earn $38,355 a year, $18.44 an hour, to afford a simple two-bedroom apartment at the 2010 national average fair market rent of $959.

Room for rent: No drugs, drama or pets. Must be mellow and employed. Living with housemates is not exactly ideal, but it’s a choice many people are making to get through tough times. Job losses and other financial constraints are forcing people to reduce living expenses in a big way. For some, that might mean downsizing from a house to an apartment — or just a room. Some people have had to move home with the folks. Others are able to remain in their homes, but only by bringing in boarders to help cover costs. Living on your own in...

One of the nation’s leading rental car companies recently ordered thousands of cars without side impact airbags in an attempt to save millions of dollars, then later sold the cars to buyers without the standard safety feature, according to a report from the Kansas City Star. According to the report, Enterprise Rent-A-Car ordered a fleet of Chevy Impalas without the side impact

Blockbuster Inc. has launched a service that delivers movies to your home via the Internet, as the DVD rental giant looks to expand ways it provides movies to customers. The service is "Blockbuster on Demand" and requires a box made by 2Wire Inc. At least initially, the box is included free if customers rent 25 movies in advance for $99. . . . Blockbuster on Demand is pay as you go, with movies costing between $1.99 and $3.99, Keyes said. You have 30 days to watch the movie, but only 24 hours to finish watching once you start. With Netflix,...

RANGEL DOUBLE-DEAL$REAPED DC HOME PERK WHILE BENDING APPLE RENTAL RULES By ISABEL VINCENT and JILL CULORA Last updated: 1:16 am November 23, 2008 Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel took a "homestead" tax break on a Washington, DC, house for years while simultaneously occupying multiple rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, possibly violating laws and regulations in both cases. The situation raises a number of potential problems for the congressman, including: * New York City law requires that tenants use rent-stabilized apartments as their primary residence. * DC's real Property Homestead Deduction Act also requires that a property receiving the benefit be...

A Hertz-eye view of the global economy NOTHING is more irksome about hiring a rental car than knowing you will be ripped off if you return the car without a full tank of petrol. The rental-car firms invented over-priced gas long before the world’s oil markets discovered it. Now Hertz, the world’s leading rental-car company, is throwing customers a bone. On July 1st it ended the practice of charging a huge premium for filling the tank of a returned car. Instead, customers will pay a flat fee of $6.99, and the average market rate for petrol at the three nearest...

In a significant turnaround, the Escondido City Council announced Wednesday night that it has halted its efforts to defend in court a city ordinance that would punish landlords for renting to illegal immigrants.

Left behind by Netflix, DVDs, and on-demand cable service, outlets are dying off; popcorn, tanning salons keep some alive If it were an old Western movie, this would be the faded boomtown. It's silent save for the buzz of fluorescent lighting and the familiar "swish-clunk" of DVDs slipping through an outside drop-box. A smattering of customers -- one, maybe two at a time -- stroll in, getting lost in tall stacks filled with dusty gems such as "Divine Trash" and "Cactus Flower." One elderly gentleman passes through a door in the back to a beyond not suitable for children. At...

California's landlords, who face a possible return of two-month notices to move out long-term tenants, have launched a postcard campaign urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto the idea. Landlords across Sacramento and the state say a one-month notice is enough when asking tenants to leave for no cause. It's used to evict problem renters and to move out tenants for condo conversions and new ownership. "The 30-days notice is one of the few remaining tools that owners and managers have to remove problem residents such as drug dealers and gang members," said Cory Koehler, deputy director of the Rental Housing...

Online DVD rental company Netflix on Tuesday sued rival Blockbuster for patent infringement, asking a federal judge in Northern California to shut down Blockbuster's 18-month-old online rental service and award Netflix damages, according to a copy of the filing. Blockbuster declined to comment, saying it had not received a copy of the lawsuit. Netflix, which was founded in 1999, holds two U.S. patents for its business methodology, which calls for subscribers to pay a monthly fee to select and rent DVDs from the company's Web site and to maintain a list of titles telling Netflix in which order to ship...

WITH 14,000 FAMILIES on a waiting list for a federally funded rent-assistance program, it is unfortunate that the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) allowed portions of its allotted rental vouchers to go unused, triggering a permanent reduction in the total number of vouchers paid for by the federal government this year and in subsequent years. What's worse is that the cut in voucher funding comes at a time when federal support for affordable and public housing programs nationwide is being slashed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city's working poor and low-income families can hardly...

My son manages a couple of local video rental stores. We were talking about the aforementioned DVD tonite and I asked about availability on the rental side. (I have a copy, I was just curious.) He informed me that the distributor has the title in its catalog, but that it had been placed on "moratorium". In effect it was unavailable to rent.

Need to go get them. Return on Wednesday, Nov. 3. VIDEO STORES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE JOINING IN THE EFFORT TO MAKE SURE AMERICANS SEE FAHRENHEIT 9/11 BEFORE THE ELECTION Oscar-winning filmmaker and best-selling author Michael Moore will announce the official kickoff to "Fahrenheit for Free" at a "Slacker Uprising Tour" event in Indiana, PA at 8:00 PM, Tuesday, October 26. Moore is joining forces with over 150 video store operators from across the country in an effort to get as many Americans as possible to see the film before the election. Participating video stores across the country will be...