NAR Supports Supreme Court Review of Rent Control Laws

On June 9, the National Association of REALTORS®, alongside the National Apartment Association (NAA), the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), filed an amicus brief in two cases asking the Supreme Court to hear a challenge to New York's rent stabilization law (RSL). Read NAR’s statement. The two cases supporting the challenge to New York's RSL are: Community Housing Improvement Program, et al. v City of New York and 74 Pinehurst LLC, et al., v. New York, et al. 

In the brief, the associations explained to the Court the burdens imposed on property owners, as part of a recent trend of government encroachment on private property rights. Numerous examples were provided on how New York’s rent control law and others around the country make it difficult for property owners to possess and enjoy their own properties—even for personal uses, and how such difficulties often fall hardest on individual “mom and pop” property owners with the fewest resources. Such laws force these housing providers to alone bear the public burdens of misguided housing policies beyond what the Constitution permits.

The brief also provided in detail the adverse effects of rent-control laws including how such government actions exacerbate housing supply and affordability problems by reducing the quantity and quality of available housing. The associations provided extensive data to the Court offering insight on how such laws also decrease consumer mobility and entry into the housing market through misguided attempts to address housing affordability concerns. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the New York Association of REALTORS®, and the Real Estate Board of New York also filed amicus briefs in support of the petitions. A decision on whether the Court takes up the case will be announced in the fall.

Stay tuned for the latest updates.