Change We Can Believe In Permanently
Good idea from DC Mayor Adrian Fenty:
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed an executive order today to suspend District regulations and allow residents to rent their properties for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama without obtaining a business license or a certificate of occupancy.
The move is aimed at satisfying the record demand for housing from out-of-town visitors who plan to attend the Jan. 20 ceremony and week-long festivities. The mayor’s order will suspend the regulations on rentals from Jan. 13 through Jan. 27.
At a news conference, D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles and Linda Argo, director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, also said they would develop a sample contract and post it on the city’s Web site for people to use as templates as they make rental deals.
Not only is this a good idea, but I agree with Ryan Avent that it’s such a good idea that we should make it permanent. The sample contract idea is a real public service, and the regulatory barrier here isn’t doing very much to stop abuses, but is doing something to restrict the supply of housing available to people. And rather than expending money enforcing and implementing the rule requiring a business license, the money could be spent directly enforcing the rules against specific kinds of abusive treatment of tenants.
42 Responses to “Change We Can Believe In Permanently”
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November 21st, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Hotels in places like Cancun and Aruba probably will be filled that week with Washington residents who are renting out their houses for the Inauguration and enjoying a little travel with the money they’re making.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I dunno, when me and my roommates were recently getting screwed by our rental company (poor maintenance, massive rent hike with 30 days notice but we couldn’t move out without 60 days notice, etc.), we went to the Office of the Tenant Advocate, who told us to check if the rental co. had a business license for the property. Shortly after we asked the rental co. to produce one, suddenly all our troubles evaporated and we were allowed to move out immediately. Turns out they didn’t have one.
Keep in mind, however, that not having a business license won’t get you shut down–it just opens up the owner to a lot of D.C. housing laws and regulations (rent hike maximum, etc.) that don’t normally apply to a tenement with 4 or less tenants. So it really doesn’t act to restrict housing on a low level basis. At least from what I gather.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:31 pm
You’d probably be interested in the ongoing battle in Oahu on vacation rentals. Right now, you can’t rent out your place short term (30 days or less) without a license, and you can’t in general get any new licenses.
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:09 am
Augusta, GA hosts the Masters golf tournament every April. Schools let out for spring break and thousands of families rent their homes out and skip town. Every one of them is quite familiar with IRC ยง 280A(g).
There is a provision where you can rent your house…for two weeks or less a year and not have to pay any tax on the rental income. That’s what is sometimes referred to as the Masters provision. People along the Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters Tournament takes place, rent their homes for fabulous amounts, but the tournament takes less than two weeks. People in this category can’t take any deductions against the income from their property for things like utilities and maintenance, but they don’t have to report any rental income. Some people make a lot of tax-free money each year renting their house for recurring events like the Masters.
http://www.realestatejournal.com/buysell/taxesandinsurance/20060314-kim1.html
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