Rent control legislation fails to accurately address housing shortage causes

To: Rep. Farivar, Rep. Pollet, Gov. Ferguson, Sen. Valdez

From: A constituent in Seattle, WA

April 27

The proposed rent control legislation fails to address the root cause of housing affordability issues - insufficient supply to meet demand. Imposing artificial caps on rent increases will disincentivize new construction and investment in housing, exacerbating the shortage. A more sustainable approach is to enable market forces to respond organically by removing regulatory barriers that impede housing development. This will spur builders to increase the housing stock and alleviate upward pressure on prices through greater competition and availability. While seemingly appealing in the short term, rent control policies ultimately restrict access to affordable housing for those most in need by discouraging growth of the overall market. I urge you to reconsider this misguided rent cap and instead focus policies on expanding housing options through zoning reforms and development incentives.

Write to Darya Farivar or any of your elected officials

Resistbot is a chatbot that delivers your texts to your elected officials by email, fax, or postal mail. Tap above to give it a try or learn more here!