Dear ‘Your Elected Official’s Name (at the Federal, State, Local, etc. level)’,
Note: you can use “https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials” to find the names and addresses of elected officials across Federal, State, and Local levels of government. Please send this letter to any or all of them, it can be mailed or emailed or both.
I am a constituent of ‘Your Federal State, State District, or Locality’, and as a voter I am concerned with Housing Affordability. I am in favor of you taking steps towards making housing more affordable.
Concerns include:
- Both the rising cost to purchase a house and the rising cost of rent are unsustainable, leading to the very real possibility that many people who don’t currently own their housing will never be able to afford to do so, whether that’s a house or apartment/condo.
- Extremely restrictive Zoning laws prevent the development of housing projects that are desperately needed. In addition, Zoning laws are outdated and need to be re-visited for the current day and age, including suburban biases and car centric biases.
- The high costs of housing affects all aspects of peoples’ lives, including everything from food safety to leisure spending. If people can barely afford to pay for shelter, this isn’t much left over to cover other expenses or contribute to the economy in meaningful ways.
Suggestions for improving the situation are as follows:
- Public Housing is an option that could be conducted at the Federal, State, or Local level of government. If a city has public housing at the low end of a competitive market rate, that ties the community together and incentivizes public participation in the housing market.
- Rent Control measures of some kind could alleviate price increases somewhat while other, more robust, solutions are put into place.
- A Rent Tax Reduction could be instituted, similar to a Mortgage Interest Rate Reduction. Perhaps a percentage of rent could be deducted from income taxes to help reduce the overall cost the people experience.
- As mentioned above, Zoning Laws need to be reviewed and revised to allow for much needed housing to be built. This includes, but not limited to, more Mixed Use zoning, more ‘walkable’ areas, increased multi-family housing, more apartment buildings near public transportation, reduction of minimum parking requirements, just to name a few.
Housing Affordability is already a crisis, and something needs to be done before the problems are irreversible and stifle voters and families out of a secure future. Thank you, and I look forward to action being taken on Housing Affordability.
Best,
‘Your Name’