EVICTION BANS

A Good Idea or a Dangerous Mistake?

Covid Eviction Bans

As many people lost their jobs during the CCP virus attacks, politicians became concerned that people would also lose their housing as their funds dried up.  As well, some believed that already homeless people would be at more risk of infection or infecting others living outdoors.  (The true story was that more of them got sick being housed with others in the temporary places available).

While the concern is real, the politics chose one group over another, believing that landlords could better afford the loss than those who might become homeless, ignoring that many had other options such as living with other family members.  The problem only became noticeable as small landlords (those with only a few rental properties) began deferring maintenance and struggling as the eviction bans continued.

Even with Covid relief packages, some renters still refused to pay even discounted rates.  Meanwhile, landlords with just a few properties began to be unable to support themselves, let alone pay for their mortgage on these properties.  Temporary mandates with repayment plans can be sustainable; long-lasting mandates cause real economic harm to individuals who rely on rental income to survive.  Many of these landlords are retirees who use this income to continue to live here.  Social Security won’t support the cost of living in California.

Worse yet, even as people get rehired and get back on their feet, the unpaid liability continues.  Even as some have gotten help from government assistance, payment to landlords is slow. 

Property Rights

Property rights go a long way to explaining the success of the American experiment.  The framers of the Constitution treated private property as the cornerstone of a free society. Without them, people lack the incentive to invest. If someone can take away your business or your house, why would you pay into it? 

But it’s more than that.  Private ownership means that government power is more limited.  We are more autonomous when we don’t rely on government to provide shelter.  In the USSR under communism, the government eliminated property rights, forcing homeowners to house multiple families under their roof, depriving everyone of a quality of life. 

When we feel we have some power, based on our ownership stake in society (home, business or even shares of stock), we feel more empowered to challenge government policy and take action.    As one prominent historian described American society as it neared the break with England, “Men were equal in that no one should be dependent on the will of another, and property made this independence possible. Americans in 1776 therefore concluded that they were naturally fit for republicanism precisely because they were ‘a people of property; almost every man is a freeholder’.”

The Implications for the Future

As many bans were extended long past the point of reason or fairness to landlords, with the excuse that many were rich and could afford it, this has caused a chilling effect on rental property.  In California, where the market is hot, landlords are starting to sell rental houses to owners who will live in these properties reducing the short supply of rentals.  Fewer will feel safe investing in a few rental condos or apartments, unsure if they will end up stuck with a freeloading tenant.  And even prior to the virus, evictions in California had become costly, time-consuming and difficult. 

Any law that takes property rights away from the owner is going to reduce the housing available to the rest of us.  In many states, there is a housing crunch, already exacerbated by huge number of illegal migrants and refugees flooding out shores.  Few people will see rental properties as desirable if their ability to use them for income could be threatened at any time.

Those who stay the course will reduce maintenance and upgrades in order to be able to stay alive themselves.  Yes, bigger companies may continue to provide some housing, but most likely, will only offer the minimum “low income” housing they are statutorily required to provide. 

People starting out their adult lives, those on low incomes and those whose income is fixed will find it hard to find a place to live.  The outsize rate of inflation is only going to make it harder on them.

The Solution

Reinstate and reinforce property rights.  Let people evict those who don’t pay rent or cause damage to the property.  Let people evict tenants to house their own relatives or sell the property.  During the initial phases of the epidemic, even small landlords tried to help out people in distress.   But this was voluntary.  Once you change the laws to help one side at the expense of the other, you ensure that landlords will be hesitant to invest or even stay in the market, as they no longer feel they have property rights. 

Too often, the government uses the big hammer to solve a problem causing numerous other issues where local people working with the local government could hammer out better solutions and ideas.  Of course, as a signatory to the Great Barrington Declaration, I maintain that had we not implemented lockdowns worldwide, we wouldn’t have this problem. There were better ways to handle the CCP virus; we’re only now going to start “enjoying” the result of government overreach.