Rent control
Can we make flophouses great again? And should we?
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week's newsletter includes more than its fair share of rent control content. We cover a new lawsuit challenging New York's rent caps on vacant units…
Zohran Mamdani’s win offers terrible temptation for Democrats
As a pessimist, I always figured it was a matter of time before Democrats would decide to counter the rise of a grievance-based populist Right with a grievance-based populist Left. We saw shades of this in the 2020 election,…
Los Angeles votes to reduce rent increases on 650,000 stabilized apartments
The Los Angeles City Council voted yesterday to lower the allowable rent increases on some 650,000 rent-stabilized units in the city. The new formula endorsed by the city council will allow landlords to raise rents by 90…
New York landlords call vacancy caps unconstitutional in new lawsuit
Landlords are once again suing over New York's rent stabilization law. On Wednesday, rental property owners filed a lawsuit in U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York against New York City and its Rent…
Completely fine or a total flop?
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week's newsletter takes a look at the Trump administration's proposal to create a 50-year mortgage product to rival the 30-year mortgage that became…
Good riddance, Andrew Cuomo
The results are in, and Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City, after winning a raw majority of the vote and easily besting former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Over at Cuomo's…
New York City can’t afford Mamdani’s campaign promises
Zohran Mamdani has won New York City's mayoral election. The self-described democratic socialist has promised New Yorkers a cornucopia of policies, programs, and services. There's ample reason to believe that his…
Can Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze and housing supply plans coexist?
Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. As this Tuesday also happens to be an Election Day, this week's newsletter takes a look at the races and referendums that will have the biggest impact on housing…
Mamdani’s socialist mayorship will make New York a worse place to live and do business
As I write this, I have yet to cast my vote for the mayor of New York City, where I live (a question I can answer more easily and definitively than the current mayor). In most elections, there are only two bad choices. But…
Florida governor Ron DeSantis pushes to abolish property taxes
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. Since Halloween is upon us, this week's newsletter zeroes in on some of the spookier elements of housing policy. Rent Free Newsletter by Christian Britschgi.…
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