AATC Visits Washington, DC
At the end of March, AATC representatives visited Washington, DC, to meet with our respective representatives in both houses of Congress. We were part of a larger delegation that was organized by the National Apartment Association (NAA) as part of their annual Advocate conference.
There were three primary issues and one secondary issue our industry needed to focus upon:
- Oppose federal efforts to interfere with the relationship between the landlord and tenant. There is a push to create a Tenant’s Bill of Rights and impact how political policy could subvert contract law.
- Improve the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to attract and better serve the private sector housing providers. The bureaucracy created around administering the program leads to many housing providers not getting reimbursed in a timely manner. In its current state, the voucher program has led to more folks leaving the program, making the supply of these types of rental properties smaller, while the demand will only increase in our current economic climate.
- Incentives for local governments to lower barriers to development and increase the supply of housing. Too often, building more multi-family housing is stopped by local governments for various reasons. We want Washington to incentivize local governments to spur housing growth instead of limiting it.
The secondary issue was formally ending the CARES Act 30-day notice-to-vacate requirement for federally backed and federally-assisted rental properties. Even though the CARES Act has been over, many locals still use the 30-day notice to vacate requirement in eviction procedures. We even see this in our area. By formally repealing the rule, we will provide our members with a specific law to defend their rights to their property.
Representatives from Fort Worth, and our nine-county area, were in line with much of what we stood for. In addition, our two Senators were also very supportive of our positions.
As a region, we also needed to be present to help support those other areas of the country with representatives who do not share our view of the industry. For example, many parts of the country are pushing for rent control policies. Study after study has shown that rent control does not help renters; it hurts them. Too often, politicians run to the issue that will get them the votes today without thinking about the impact those policies will have in the future.
Our great State needs to hold firm on defending property owners and their rights and support a free market, which will benefit the consumer through competition and response to supply. I was very proud to be part of Advocate and want to send a special thanks to our members who also attended and helped defend our industry.
Kevin Pellegrino is AATC’s CEO. For more information, email Kevin at kevin@aatcnet.org
