On Tuesday, January 11, CEO Theresa Hatton and NEAR President-Elect Neily Soto testified against rent control bills before the Joint Committee on Housing.
Hatton explained the challenges facing the state – a severe lack of housing production and wages that have not kept up with the costs of basic consumer needs. Rent control would only worsen the problem by reducing the amount of multifamily housing and stifling production. She also noted the irony of giving municipalities enhanced powers to implement a new policy that would stop housing production when the state is facing a housing crisis largely because municipalities have spent decades adding policies to block housing production.
Soto shared her own story of growing up in Section 8 housing and how she, like her mother before her and many in her community, used multifamily homeownership to build familial wealth, pay for education, and achieve the American dream of homeownership. Rent control would prevent others from achieving the same success. Soto ended with solutions, urging the Legislature to pursue policies that increase housing production and voucher assistance to best help those in need.
Read testimony from MAR and real estate coalition partners here and watch a video of the testimony here.