BOISE, Idaho — This story originally appeared in The Idaho Press.
The Idaho Senate on Monday passed HB 545, a bill that would eliminate Boise’s rental application fee cap of $30 and stop the city from requiring large landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers. It now heads to Gov. Brad Little.
The City of Boise’s rental application fee ordinance was passed because some landlords were charging high fees and accepting lots of applications — essentially using the fees as an extra revenue stream.
The Section 8 voucher discussion comes after Boise last year passed a series of renter protections, including against source-of-income discrimination. Landlords can still say no to tenants and set their own rents, but they have to consider Section 8 applicants. The vouchers give a rent subsidy straight to the landlord.
Critics of the bill said the issue came down to local control and giving cities the tools to fix the housing crisis in Idaho.
However, supporters of the bill said it was about individual rights and the free market, and many said landlords shouldn’t be forced to accept vouchers.
Efforts to preempt city ordinances is part of an “alarming trend,” said Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, whose day job is as the executive director at Jesse Tree, a local housing nonprofit. She said the bill would overturn a Boise ordinance that requires security deposits to be returned to renters when buildings are demolished.
“These are really big issues. Fees are a huge problem ... as more and more big investors are coming into Idaho buying up our housing and using housing as an opportunity to treat tenants as a bottom line on a profit and loss statement,” Rabe said.
Sen. Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, said she felt local governments should take care of the housing issue.
Sen. Doug Okuniewicz, R-Hayden, who carried the bill on the floor, said the bill is simple.
“It’s very straightforward, it’s simply trying to make sure that a city or a county, for example, can’t tell you or require that you lower your rent at your rental property,” Okuniewicz said.
Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, said the bill doesn’t take a position on housing assistance programs, it just doesn’t mandate participation.
“When pondering this type of issue, certain words come to mind. Words like capitalism, private sector, and free marketplace,” Foreman said. “This is a simple bill, it’s a good bill, and I fully support it.”
At the end, Rabe said developers are flocking here and that Idaho is a landlord-friendly state.
“We talked about the values of free-market capitalism,” Rabe said. “I want to counterbalance that with the values of local control … and consumer protection.”
And in closing the debate, Okuniewicz said it was a free-market issue.
“Cities have other alternatives, frankly, rather than just forcing their will on a private property owner,” Okuniewicz said. “They can invest in low-cost housing and run it themselves. There’s no reason that they have to force private property owners into doing their will.”
Boise does invest in low-cost housing, but that’s only one tool.
The city is already limited in what it can do to address housing, said Nicki Hellenkamp, the mayor’s housing advisor with the City of Boise.
She said the city’s new rental protection ordinances, including the vouchers, went into effect on Jan. 1, and no landlords have reached out with issues. Consumer protections are needed, not because any industry is bad, but because in any industry there are bad actors.
“The housing situation for Boiseans continues to be really challenging,” Hellenkamp said. “I think what these measures actually do is provide very, very basic consumer protections.”
The bill would take effect July 1.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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