Challenges

  • National trend of removing existing JCEC.  There has been a growing momentum to weaken any laws that appear to restrict the rights of property owners, such as JCEC and rent controls.  Opponents of JCEC maintain that the housing market should not be regulated; rather that the free market is the best method of stabilizing rents.  Unfortunately, too many landlords capitalize off the "free market" at the expense of existing tenants, causing displacement of low- and middle- income residents.
  • Renters need to be informed of their rights.   While many cities have JCEC, tenants may not be aware of these protections.  Grassroots education and organizing of tenants is critical.
  • jCEC need to be coupled with other tools.  In order to be effective, JCEC must be used in conjunction with other tools, such as rent controls. For example, JCEC without rent control can be ineffective because landlords could increase the rent prohibitively to force out renters.

Balancing Regulation and the Market

Opponents to tenant protections often argue that the housing market will be most efficient when left unregulated. However, an unregulated rental market can only provide stable housing if there is a significant vacancy rate in the local/regional housing market; if there is production of new housing commensurate with population growth; or subsidies for lower-income households. If these conditions do not exist, a balance can be struck between regulation of rents and evictions and allocation of new investments in the development of affordable housing.