RENT CONTROL IN EAST POINT?
With rent increases at an all-time high and projected to keep increasing, isn’t it time for State and Local Elected Officials to become proactive and propose Legislation that would help to stabilize rent increases in our communities? Since former President Trump’s Tax Cut, the number of Millionaires has grown astronomically, and the number of Billionaires has greatly increased. No longer is the list of Millionaires the hot topic. The wealth income gap in Georgia is increasing every day. Georgia now has eighteen (18) Billionaires. How many of these Billionaires live in your City? For that matter, how many Millionaires live in your City?
With Corporations having entered the residential housing markets, middle income wage earners are increasingly being frozen out of the affordable rental and homeowner markets. Lower income wage earners are facing homelessness situations. Something has to be done to save and stabilize our communities. I believe that the time is ripe to institute Rent Controls in Georgia, and ELECT State Legislators who will not Vote to ban Rent Controls in Georgia. Local Elected Officials should immediately begin adopting Rent Control Legislation. I have a few suggestions for residents to consider:
1) Treat rent increases like mortgage rate increases that would occur every 12 or 18 months.
2) Limit the amount of rent increases to no more than ten (10) percent over 24 months unless major renovations or recreational/social amenities are made on the property.
3) Use Code Enforcement Laws to rate rental properties for rate decreases if there are violations.
4) Revisit property codes for multi-family commercial rate assessment if not prohibited by existing State Laws.
Too many residents are living in substandard rental housing and are paying through the nose. Investors have a right to make money on their investments and residents have the right to demand that their local governments protect the investments that they have made to their communities throughout the years that they paid Bond Debt for Municipal Physical Improvements and providing for the cost of having a government! Residents, let your Elected Officials on all levels know how you feel about Rent Controls.
