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Question: Can we cap rent prices as a % of median income?

What would happen if we were to hypothetically pass a law capping rental prices at 40% of the local median income for a 2 person home? ​ I live in Seattle and the price increases are insane. Back when I was working in property management in 2016 I leased out a home for $1850 a month, the rent estimate for that home now is $3200, that is a 12% increase in rent PER YEAR for the past 6 years. So what is preventing us from passing a ballot initiative (people’s vote) that puts a strict cap on rent prices based on the local median income? ​ I can only see pros: 1 – It would knock down the current crazy pricing to reasonable levels 2 – It would pull a sizable portion of the population out of poverty 3 – It would stop inflation instantly 4 – It would put…


What would happen if we were to hypothetically pass a law capping rental prices at 40% of the local median income for a 2 person home?

I live in Seattle and the price increases are insane. Back when I was working in property management in 2016 I leased out a home for $1850 a month, the rent estimate for that home now is $3200, that is a 12% increase in rent PER YEAR for the past 6 years.

So what is preventing us from passing a ballot initiative (people’s vote) that puts a strict cap on rent prices based on the local median income?

I can only see pros:

1 – It would knock down the current crazy pricing to reasonable levels

2 – It would pull a sizable portion of the population out of poverty

3 – It would stop inflation instantly

4 – It would put a bunch of slumlords and big real estate buyers out of business

5 – It would push the market back down to reasonable levels

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