WA mobile homeowners, advocates react to new rent stabilization law
“The state of Washington needs a half a trillion [dollars] in economic investment in housing.”
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Chester Baldwin is a regular voice in Washington State coverage of housing, rental policy, and regulation: in print, on air, and as an on-camera panelist.
“The state of Washington needs a half a trillion [dollars] in economic investment in housing.”
“Rent control will eviscerate our housing market. There’s no city you can point to and say, ‘look, rent control fixed housing there’; it doesn’t exist.”
“It’s the law of supply and demand; our supply is so far below what we need. It artificially drives up the price and the demand for these things.”
“There is no such thing as affordable housing in the state anymore because we have put so much cost and regulation onto housing; that housing is expensive. No one can build it affordably.”
“I think the version we finally passed is actually a balanced piece of legislation that we had bipartisan support for.”
“Our association believes that the city can directly help people unable to afford their rent through robust rental assistance programs, rather than enshrining a massive and costly bureaucracy that wouldn’t actually help the housing insecure.”
“We need a timeline that’s workable. If we can find a timeline that works for both parties, we’re a ‘yes’ for that bill.”
“The rent control policy has failed everywhere it has been enacted in this country. It has not fixed one housing problem anywhere.”
“We believe, even with no new reform, that the governor has never had the authority to extend the moratorium longer than 30 days without going back to the Legislature.”
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