TPA Urges Congress to Cut Housing Red Tape

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) called on Congress to make housing more affordable by ending unneeded regulations. TPA cautioned against adding more restrictions on a heavily regulated market. On March 2, Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, respectively, released the text of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. This legislative package contains a mix of pro-growth reforms, new spending programs, and a pared-back ban on large institutional investors purchasing single-family homes.

Ross Marchand, Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, urged significant changes to the housing bill:

“TPA has long warned that a ban on large investors buying single-family homes would reduce much-needed investments into the housing market while failing to bring down home prices. Institutional investors own less than 1 percent of single-family homes, and a ban would do nothing to lower housing costs. While the ban is included in this bill, its reach is fortunately much reduced from the original proposal. Exempting investor-to-investor sales and built-to-rent homes ensures that pro-consumer housing deals will not be held up by bureaucrats. However, TPA continues to oppose any ban or attempt to impose red tape on the housing market.

“The proposal also targets unneeded and outdated regulations holding back housing supply. For example, Sections 207 and 208 target onerous environmental and National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) reviews that can turn a seven-month build into a seven-year build. This approach is laudable but has limits. States and localities are responsible for most of the housing red tape and need to get their permitting systems under control. Using taxpayer dollars to nudge states to change their ways—as this bill proposes—is no substitute for sustained cooperation between all levels of government. Red tape can and should be eliminated without costing taxpayers a dime.

“This bill is a mixed bag for taxpayers and consumers who are rightly fed up with high housing costs. TPA will continue working with lawmakers to reform housing laws and cut red tape.”

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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.