Harris says she will build 3M homes, crack down on rental algorithms

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday pledged to build 3 million new homes and took aim at “corporate landlords” who use software to set rents. 

Harris, speaking in Raleigh, N.C., said she would “work in partnership with industry” to “end America’s housing shortage,” by building 3 million new homes, for rent and to own, by the end of her first term if elected president.

Harris also promised to “cut red tape” at the local and state level, the stages at which housing production tends to get delayed by restrictive zoning and other regulations. 

“In some places, it is too difficult to build, and it is driving prices up,” she said.  

She did not go into detail about how she would influence local government decisions, though the Biden administration just announced a second round of funding for localities that are prioritizing pro-housing policies. 

It is unclear if 3 million represents just federally-funded homes. Turning the tide on the housing shortage at the national level is no small task, and even if that volume of homes were built within the tight deadline of four years, some estimates peg the national housing shortfall to be somewhere between 4 and 7 million homes. 

The Biden administration has been pushing a housing plan that would build and preserve an estimated 2 million homes, so perhaps Harris’ goal includes that projection. Harris is expected to release more details on her policy priorities in the coming weeks.

During her speech, Harris also said she would fight for a law to crack down on corporate landlords who use algorithms and price-fixing software to inflate rents. Companies that provide real estate companies with management software, such as RealPage, have been under fire for how this technology influences rental rates. Lawsuits against RealPage allege that the company’s software allows landlords to collude to set rent rates artificially high. The Department of Justice is also reportedly investigating the company and others over price-fixing allegations.  

San Francisco is poised to become the first city to ban such software, and has played a role in the mayoral race there.

RealPage and other software firms have pushed back on this narrative, arguing that large-scale collusion between multifamily owners is implausible and that the rental market is influenced by myriad other factors. The trajectory of the litigation and criminal investigation could affect how laws regulating these stand up against legal challenges.   

Harris did not mention President Joe Biden’s proposal to temporarily cap rent increases nationwide, though her emphasis on corporate landlords buying up housing stock and then inflating rents echoed Biden’s justification for the form of rental control. 

Friday was Harris’ first policy-focused speech since declaring her candidacy. The presidential election, so far, has not focused heavily on housing policy. Former President Donald Trump’s platform has emphasized reducing inflation to help homeowners and has touted the Opportunity Zone program, which launched under his administration. During a speech this week, Trump blamed the influx of migrants for driving rent “absolutely through the roof.” He also said he would work with Nevada to open up federally-owned land for housing. 

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