Free Republic

It turns out renters and homeowners are living in two entirely different economies, at least according to a new study by the Federal Reserve—which, ironically enough, made it happen.In short, renters are in dire straits financially, while homeowners are “continuing to reap the rewards” of cheap pandemic money that left renters with nothing but inflation.This is “complicating” the Fed’s crystal ball as homeowners continue to splurge on everything from travel to eating out, “propping up prices with their discretionary spending power.”Of course, the Fed’s money printers are what are propping up prices. But the robust homeowner spending means they’re not...

The woke city of New York is being overrun by rampant crime, illegal immigrants, and now squatters thanks to a law that turns them into tenants after 30 days. New York City homeowners are being pushed to financial limits that allow squatters to live rent-free. At the same time, the owners are forced to keep paying electricity and maintenance bills for the apartments. Under New York City law, anyone who lives in a home or apartment for at least 30 days can claim squatter’s rights, even if they broke into the property without permission from the owner. Squatters are taking...

Most Americans still dream about owning their own home but over 60 percent don’t think they will ever be able make that dream come true, according to a new survey from market research firm The Harris Poll. The 2,047-person survey shows while 81 percent of U.S. adults would like to own a home in the future, 61 percent don’t think they will ever be able to do it. A sizeable number of Americans — 42 percent — believe that no matter how hard they work they will never be able to afford a home they really love. For most Americans,...

Researchers say that in 2022, a record half of people in the United States renting a place to live used a massive chunk of their income for rent and utilities. In its article, published Thursday, NPR cited a recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University regarding the desperate situation that is hurting people across the nation. The center’s report found that in 2022, “as rents spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, a record half of U.S. renters paid more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities. Nearly half of those people were severely cost-burdened,...

House Bill 621, sponsored by Republican Florida state Rep. Kevin Steele, was put forward in response to Jacksonville resident Patti Peeples, who made national headlines earlier this year when several squatters moved into her Jacksonville property and caused nearly $40,000 in damages. Peeples first discovered that two female squatters broke into a rental property she owned after she sent a handyman to make repairs in anticipation of a home inspection after she showed an interested buyer the home 48 hours before.

A Queens landlord was killed by her teen tenant during a fight that erupted this week when he failed to make good on rent, authorities said Thursday. Davi Vidal, 19, lashed out at Leo Zoraida, 55, around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday inside their building on 96th Street near Northern Boulevard in East Elmhurst, cops said. Vidal hadn’t been paying rent, sparking the deadly altercation with Zoraida. Cops say the landlord was found unconscious and unresponsive with scratches on her face inside an apartment.

No, renters, you are not imagining those grey hairs springing up on your head – your living situation is actually making you older, faster. A landmark study out of the University of Adelaide and University of Essex has found that living in a private rental property accelerates the biological ageing process by more than two weeks every year. The research found renting had worse effects on biological age than being unemployed (adding 1.4 weeks per year), obesity (adding 1 week per year), or being a former smoker (adding about 1.1 weeks). University of Adelaide Professor of Housing Research Emma Baker...

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Saturday to bolster eviction protections for renters and close a loophole in an existing law that has allowed landlords to circumvent the state's rent cap. The move updates a 2019 landmark law that created rules around evictions and establishing a rent cap at 5% plus the inflation rate, with a 10% maximum. Under the 2019 law, landlords can evict tenants for "at fault" or "no fault" reasons. "At fault" reasons include failure to pay rent on time. Under "no fault" rules, landlords can terminate leases by saying they need to move into...

On July 27, the Biden Administration released a fact sheet detailing new actions to develop the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, which was rolled out early this year (covered by InfoBytes here). The three new actions aim to support renters by (i) “ensuring all renters have an opportunity to address incorrect tenant screening reports”; (ii) “providing new funding to support tenant organizing efforts”; and (iii) “ensuring that renters are given fair notice in advance of eviction.” Additionally, the CFPB, USDA, FHFA, and HUD concurrently released statements aimed at landlords, reminding them of “best practices” and their obligation to...

If you’re a retiree and you’re trying to square the circle of rising costs, longer lifespans, more expensive medical care and turbulent markets, don’t be afraid to run the numbers on your biggest investment. That would be your home — if you own it. U.S. house prices are now so high that it is almost impossible for seniors not to ask themselves the obvious question: “Should we cash in, invest the money, and rent?” Right now the average U.S. house price is nearly $360,000. That’s about a third higher than just a few years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The...

Blood is spattered across the ceiling of a laundry room, a few feet from Laurie-Ann Mills’ apartment, likely from people who break into the complex and use intravenous drugs hastily or incorrectly. A gap between her apartment door and the frame allows noise to easily travel into Mills’ apartment. Her countertops are peeling. Several electrical outlets are broken. A sink in her living room produces yellow water. Her dishwasher leaks onto the kitchen floor. One-half of her apartment occasionally loses power. Cars, packages and apartments are repeatedly broken into or stolen. And a neighbor, who has since moved, was stabbed...

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A controversial new ordinance came into force on Saturday in San Diego requiring landlords to compensate renters when their lease is terminated through no fault of their own. “This is a good step in the right direction,” said Rafael Bautista, director of the San Diego Tenants Union. The ordinance, which was brought forward by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and Council President Sean Elo-Rivera gives tenants new protections that start on the first day of their lease.

For cash-strapped renters crushed by the worst inflationary environment in four decades as real wages tumble, personal savings wiped out, and credit cards maxed out, we have found the top ten cities to avoid renting a one-bedroom apartment.The Zumper National Rent Index shows rising shelter costs for a one-bedroom apartment are not sustainable for the working poor. The median national one-bedroom rent for August was $1,486, up 11.8% over the same month last year, surpassing July's record high. Readers may recall we have focused on New York City's hot rental market for apartments that continues to set "record number of...

Major investors are buying more housing because they expect to gain from rising rents and escalating house prices, creating a growing class of renters in America. Bloomberg reported on remarks made by Barry Sternlicht, chairman of the real estate investment firm Starwood Capital Group. “You’re seeing a squeeze and now they’ll have to rent because they can’t afford to buy,” Sternlicht said. Bloomberg reported: That benefits landlords like Starwood, which Sternlicht said owns 100,000 apartments and 15,000 rental houses. An inflationary environment also helps commercial real estate owners by increasing the costs of building new supply, increasing the value of...

Roughly $10 billion of a $46 billion pool of federal rental aid has made it to renters, landlords and utilities companies after another $2.8 billion was disbursed by state and local governments in September, the Treasury Department announced Monday. Treasury said that funds from the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program reached more than 510,000 households last month and more than 2 million since the initiative began this year. The department had distributed the entirety of the $46 billion to eligible state and local entities in May to help struggling renters avoid eviction upon the expiration of federal and state moratoria.

A Las Vegas landlord accused of shooting dead two female tenants and critically injuring a man in a dispute over unpaid rent allegedly said he’d “handle it his way” instead of trying to evict them. Arnoldo Lozano Sanchez, 78, shot the three victims inside his home early Wednesday after an argument broke out regarding the rent, police say. The landlord, who also lived at the home, allegedly laughed and smiled as he opened fire on the victims in their rooms, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It is not clear how much rent the tenants...

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday suggested the Biden administration had engaged in “gamesmanship” by renewing a freeze on evictions despite an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling. During a 30-minute hearing, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich questioned why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) imposed an eviction moratorium last week after officials had publicly expressed doubts about the administration’s legal authority to do so.... ...One central issue in Monday’s hearing was which of two higher court rulings — one from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and another from the Supreme Court — should guide Friedrich’s decision,...

Ordinary Americans are increasingly competing for a roof over their heads against the permanent capital of companies such as BlackRock and J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which are buying single-family homes from real estate developers at double what the middle class can afford. Indeed, the country’s largest homebuilders are betting on America becoming a nation of renters, pouring billions into the built-to-rent sector with the backing of banks and private investment firms. Entire neighborhoods are gobbled up as the stage is set for what John Burns Real Estate Consulting is calling “another speculative investor-driven home price bubble.” The firm estimates one...

Editor's Note: This column was authored by Emilie Dye.No one likes to think about people being unable to pay rent and losing their homes. But as I learned in high school reading Henry Hazlitt, “The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.” And the eviction moratorium, which the CDC extended this week for the second time, completely ignores landlords.Since September 2020, the government has essentially forced landlords to...

The nationwide eviction moratorium is being extended through June 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday. The protection was scheduled to expire in two days on March 31. The CDC says the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings — like homeless shelters — by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19. Around 20% of adult renters said they didn’t pay last month’s rent, according to a survey published in March by the...