From LA to D.C., tenant-protection laws are gaining steam

Tenant advocates are declaring victory in Los Angeles this month after lawmakers passed some of the city’s strongest permanent tenant protections in decades. 

As LA’s pandemic-era eviction moratorium was winding down, the City Council expanded its ”just cause” eviction ordinance to cover all multifamily housing and determined that landlords must shoulder the cost of moving fees for tenants they evict. 

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., the White House rolled out its own recommendations for how to best shield renters from financial strain and displacement after two years of soaring rents. And six states are considering rolling back laws that block rent control so cities such as Boston can implement their own local measures. 

Those policies and proposals look like great news for tenants. But landlord advocates argue they won’t only harm property owners, they’ll hurt the already short supply of affordable housing. 

“States should think long and hard about what the effects might be of making changes, disrupting a market that needs investment,” said Sharon Wilson Géno, president of the National Multifamily Housing Council, a landlord group. 

On the latest episode of The Real Deal’s weekly podcast, “Deconstruct,” Wilson Géno breaks down the ramifications these and other tenant-protection laws could have on the rental market  and the future supply of housing developments in the pipeline.

“If we focus on disruption to that market, especially in certain locations, private investment will look elsewhere,” she warned.

Catch the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible or wherever you get your podcast fix.