US President Joe Biden has announced a plan ahead of the 2024 US Election to cap rent increases across the nation at five per cent per annum.
On 16 July 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration called on Congress to pass legislation giving corporate landlords a choice to either cap rent increases on existing units at five per cent or risk losing current valuable federal tax breaks.
The proposal would apply during 2024 and the following two years but would only apply to corporate landlords who own at least 50 units of housing stock. Over 20 million units of rental housing would be affected by the proposal. An exception would apply to new construction and substantial renovation or rehabilitation.
Failure to comply would see these landlords unable to take advantage of faster depreciation write-offs available to owners of rental housing.
It seems unlikely Congress will get on board with the rent control proposal, particularly in the run up to the 2024 Election in November. (As an aside, former President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's somewhat controversial family group controls 20,000 multi-family apartments and would be caught by President Biden's proposal.)
The Australian Greens will no doubt pick up on this proposal. Their plans to date have not included a minimum rental housing ownership threshold before their controls kick in. Their plan also has no sunset date - two years of rent freezes followed by a maximum two per cent increase every two years thereafter. The Federal government has repeatedly distanced itself from the Greens proposal. The Queensland government has also shut the door on rent controls - for now.
July 2024
© PELEN 2024
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