Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Rent Control

This article published recently in the Washington Post, complains about how landlords in Washington, D.C. are using a vacancy exemption to circumvent D.C.'s laws which put ridiculous amounts of power in tenants' hands.
Key Facts:
  1. In 1980, D.C. in its infinite wisdom decided that it would be brilliant to enact a law that gave tenants the right to decide whether they wanted their buildings to be converted into condos. Also, the law gave tenants the right to purchase the building.
  2. Obviously, landlods were not pleased with this new law as it greatly interfered with the free market process and their ability to make a profit.
  3. Thus, landlords began using an exemption in the law: if a building is vacant, then the laws enacted in 1980 don't apply. So, landlords employed various tactics in trying to force tenants to move out so that buildings in the hot D.C. real estate market could be converted into condos.
  4. Tactics used included allowing buildings to become dilapidated and run-down, turning off tenants' water and electricity, etc.
  5. The landlords have been successful in using this exemption; thus, the bleeding-heart liberals are having a fit.

What did the lawmakers think would happen when they came up with this ridiculous law? There are so many problems with this law that it would take a long time to list them. But, what it all boils down to is that government should not be telling property owners what they can and cannot do with their land and buildings. Part of a free-market system is allowing the market to function on its own, without the government stepping in and trying to make everything "fair."

Why do people think that they have a God-given right to live in a building? If you don't own the building, then why should you get to decide what happens to it?

The law and policy reek of socialism. It's too bad that the councilmen in D.C. won't wake up and face the facts; trying to put more restrictions on landlords will only drive landlords away from D.C. and will decrease the quality of housing in D.C. Why should landlords work to improve their properties if they won't be financially rewarded for it?

1 comment:

WhereisJustice? said...

Hi. I have a very serious question.

First of all: I didn't realize how old you're blog was as I was too upset to see the dates. :(

Also
I have notice since 2008 that conservative blogs seem to have vanished from the net or stopped updating.

Why is that? Are they down in their bunkers hiding scared out of their pants and stock piling guns and food for several years?


Now granted I can search and find plenty of Pro Obama blogs about recent issues that have a slant to make fun of conservatives *Tea Bagger blogs* or *Biggot* blogs but to find a conservative one is like finding a needle in several large haystacks.

I don't even know which haystack to try as some are disguised to be fair but have hidden agendas.