MyNewPlace Blog

Each week, MyNewPlace provides a compendium of news articles on apartments for rent, the rental market and interesting apartment features. We also track legislation that affects the rental market, highlighting new features for apartment owners and renters, and taking a look at notable apartment trends.

Court Rules in Favor of Multifamily Developer

In this week's top story, apartment owners, builders and architects may rest a little easier following a May 12 ruling by the U.S Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit.
See our previous article, Apartment Owners' Liabilities Under Review, for the facts of the case.

This decision sets an extremely important precedent by ruling that complaints regarding Fair Housing accessibility must be filed within two years of when the last certificate of occupancy is issued.

The plaintiffs sought a statute of limitations that would allow a suit to be filed within two years of the discovery of building features that don't accommodate handicapped people. Such a ruling would hold apartment owners, builders and architects liable for violations for an indefinite amount of time.

Political Corner

We've been keeping our eye on legislation affecting the housing market as Congress scrambles for ways to ameliorate the mortgage crisis. We've been covering a proposed federal bailout of banks and homeowners and featured summaries on the roundups from April 21^st, April 28^th and May 8^th.

There has been no new action on H.R. 5830 as it waits to be considered by the Committee of the Whole.

A related measure, H.R. 3221 is currently in conference, where legislative leaders from the House and Senate will attempt to reconcile the discrepancies between their respective versions. According to Multi-Housing News, the bill includes GSE (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and Federal Housing Authority reforms and $11 billion in tax-relief.

So far, 3 major amendments have passed the House, though how and if tax breaks are paid for is predicted to be a major obstacle.

The Shadow Market

According to an article from GlobeST.com, the recent spring conference of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, hosted a panel of industry experts who discussed how the “shadow market" has increased the supply of rentals in the market and will affect apartment rental markets.

In San Francisco, for example, a $2,400 3 bedroom apartment will now compete with single family homes now being rented out for about $1000 less per month.

In Southern California, an area that has been one of the hardest hit by the constriction of liquidity, short sales are driving prices down quicker than in other regions as lenders put homes at deflated prices back on the market. Some renters who may have been priced out of the market before are now cautiously creeping back into the housing market.

Renters of single family homes, however, should be wary, as “shadow market" homes may be more prone to foreclosure and could result in the eviction of tenants. One woman in Philadelphia, Alice Mills, returned home from a hospital stay to an eviction notice.

Check back with us each week to get the latest from the apartment rental industry.

As always, feel free to send us links to stories that you find interesting.

Each week, MyNewPlace provides a compendium of news articles on apartments for rent, the rental market and interesting apartment features. We also track legislation that affects the rental market, highlighting new features for apartment owners and renters, and taking a look at notable apartment trends.

Political Corner

A plethora of legislative actions are affecting the multifamily industry this week at both the state and federal levels.

We've been covering a proposed federal bailout of banks and homeowners and featured summaries on the roundups from April 21^st and April 28^th. On May 5th, H.R. 5830, the FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention Act of 2008 was placed on the Union Calendar, means that it will be considered by the Committee of the Whole, a parliamentary tactic used to expedite legislation. This haste is due to the perceived timeliness of bill's legislative remedy, as well its authorship by the Chair of the House Finance Committee.

In California, we have highlighted two political issues in previous blog posts whose upshots may affect the apartment rental industry.

The first is a bill that has just passed the State Senate's Judiciary Committee, which would protect apartment owners who seek to make their apartments smoke free. Since there has not been any lawsuits filed against apartment owners on the grounds preserving a tenant's right to smoke, the bill has been criticized as not going far enough by some smoke free advocates who would like to see an outright ban, as exists in two California towns.

Also in California, two competing statewide ballot initiatives will be decided by voters on June 3^rd. Both initiatives seek to reform eminent domain, but one, Proposition 98 is tackling another property rights issue, rent control. Proposition 98 would phase out rent control in California and make it more difficult for governments to seize property under eminent domain.

Green Apartments

A column in LA Weekly suggests that renting an apartment is much more ecologically friendly than owning a home. We have touched upon this issue, exploring how living density is integral to a green lifestyle. By living in apartments people can share resources as well as preserve existing open spaces.

Of course, these effects are only optimized when an apartment building undertakes to become more sustainable by conserving power and water.

To that end, Thomas Scali of the U.S Energy Group offers some insightful commentary on being a proactive ‘building efficiency driver." A property manager should not only react to emergencies or tenant complaints, but be intimately acquainted with the energy mechanisms of each apartment building. This attentiveness will reduce emissions and costs.

A Creative Renting Strategy

And finally, we leave you this week with an article from the LA Times that offers a creative approach to finding renters. Would you rent your home out as a ‘crashpad' to airline crews? To offset living expenses, one homeowner rented out four bunk beds in an extra bedroom for $250 a month per person each month.

Check back with us each week to get the latest from the apartment rental industry.

As always, feel free to send us links to stories that you find interesting.

Each week, MyNewPlace provides a compendium of news articles on apartments for rent, the rental market and interesting apartment features. We also track legislation that affects the rental market, highlighting new features for apartment owners and renters, and taking a look at notable apartment trends.

Apartment Rental Market News

To follow up on a story from last week's Apartment Rental News Roundup, the Financial Times reports that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank continues to urge for legislative action on the housing crisis front. Republicans and Democrats are divided on what legislation is necessary to complement efforts by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve to stem foreclosures; the bipartisan cooperation that drove the passage of the Economic Stimulus Act is not expected to be present when Mr. Frank's legislation leaves committee.

The Wall Street Journal examines a compromise that many renters usually encounter when looking for an apartment location. Discussed is a new website from a think tank in Chicago that will help you decide whether to rent a more expensive apartment close to your job, or to find a cheap rental further away, with a longer and more expensive commute.

A Southern California city has sued the apartment owners of the Villa Azusa Senior Apartments for not honoring a 15 year old agreement to provide low-income units for seniors. Developers were granted a $500,000 city bond in exchange for providing 30 low income apartments. Apparently, since the new owners, Century Quality Management, bought complex several years ago rents have skyrocketed.

An article from MSBC summarizes apartment rental data from a study done by Investment Instruments Corporation, whose data gives a geographically dependent view of rental costs. According the report and article, rent increases vary greatly by city.

An interesting trend is visible in Phoenix, where an oversupply of single-family homes caused by the housing crisis has deflated the amount apartments ask for rent&.the trend to rent single-family homes comes with caveats, as some renters, such as the Stoneback family in Stockton, California, have been forced out of their rental homes after the owners of the house failed to pay the mortgage.

Green Apartments

In news about green apartments, an article from Affordable Housing Finance Newsletter draws distinctions between green standards available to developers. The catalyst for the article was the introduction of a new standard, The National Green Building Standard, which is being submitted to the American National Standards Institute this spring.

The new standard has significance for apartment developers because it was developed by the International Code Council and National Association of Home Builders, along with input from the National Apartment Association and the National Multi Housing Council; the goal with the new standard is to facilitate green standards into apartment and home building, as current standards were designed for large commercial buildings.

Check back with us each week to get the latest from the apartment rental industry.

As always, feel free to send us links to stories that you find interesting.

Every Monday, MyNewPlace provides a compendium of interesting news articles on apartments for rent, the rental market and other stories from the world of apartment renting. We browse all corners of the web during the week to keep abreast of rental trends, new apartment features, as well as political and economic developments and other issues that affect renters and landlords.

Apartment Rental Market News

Bankrate.com details how the “Foreclosure Crisis Hits Rental Housing." They predict that the psychological effect of the subprime mortgage mess will decrease the number of renters graduating to homeownership, and will increase renters, rental units and roommates, though the rental market in general should avoid the turmoil experienced in the housing market.

An article on Realfacts.com's latest newsletter makes a similar argument but also highlights the relative stability of the rental markets in the western United States in the face of high foreclosure rates.

On the political side of the apartment rental market, Inman News reports that a new grassroots movement called AngryRenter.com is combating the proposed federal bailout of banks and homeowners, which was referred to the House Financial Services Committee last Thursday. You can track the bill's arduous journey through the halls of Congress here…on the Senate side, The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 was recently passed by the Senate, inviting critics to question the efficacy and cost of $3.92 billion stimulus plan.

Green Apartments News

From north of the border, the Calgary Herald reports that Dockside Green, a new apartment and living development in Victoria, British Columbia has attracted investors from across Canada with its comprehensive green building plan, which includes Platinum LEED certification.

In the United States, Fordham University will break ground later this week to develop LEED certified residences for its students…in Yahoo finance news, Crescent Multifamily Development group has started construction in North Carolina and Florida on innovative, environmentally friendly apartments that are designed with the social experiences of renters in mind.

Low Income and Section 8 Apartments

There is major news looming for low income renters who depend on the Section 8 Housing program, as affordable housing advocates are on “high alert" due to a $2.4 billion dollar shortfall in HUD's budget, reports CityLimits.org…similarly, the Center on Budget and Policy priorities predicts that HUD will be $6.5 billion above the Administration's request.

Wrangling with HUD has been the Howard County Housing Commission, which has just reopened its Section 8 housing waiting list, which had been closed since November of 2003. Apparently the lack of congruent reporting and payment schedules between the Federal Department and the local Housing Authorities, coupled with outdated local records has plagued the housing program in the Baltimore area.

Still, some renters, even when they can manage to find Section 8 vouchers, have trouble using them. In Easton, PA, an apartment building's razing has led to the relocation of many low income apartment renters, but some have found that landlords can be reluctant to accept Section 8 vouchers.

Check back with us each week as we relay apartment rental news and feel free to send us stories that you run across.