A new housing law in Cincinnati, Ohio, that encourages an alternative to the traditional apartment security deposit has sparked interest from lawmakers in other states who also want to lower the cost of rising apartment rentals for their constituents.
Cincinnati's city council recently passed an ordinance that allows residents to purchase security deposit insurance instead of handing over one month's rent deposit to a landlord. The law will help residents afford to move into a new apartment while dumping more cash into the local economy, city officials said.
"This is going to do a lot of good and save a lot of money for tens of thousands of renters in Cincinnati," said Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who introduced the bill. "And if we can spread this initiative, it's literally going to do good for millions and millions across the country."
Trending News
Sittenfeld said lawmakers in New York City and Burlington, Vermont, have called seeking guidance on how to draft similar legislation in their cities. Most city officials who call ask for a copy of the legislation or want advice on how to garner support from tenants and landlords alike, Sittenfeld said.
With security deposit insurance, a tenant signs a policy with an insurer and pays a monthly premium and that policy guarantees an amount of money would be given to the landlord if there's damage to an apartment — say, a broken window or worn patches of carpet. The premiums — which typically range from $25 to $50 a month — cost less than what a renter would have paid upfront when signing a lease.
The downside for renters is they don't receive money back after they leave an apartment, as they would with a cash deposit.
Aside from security deposit insurance, the Cincinnati law has other features designed to making moving in cheaper, Sittenfeld said. It allows renters to pay their security in six payment installments spread across a year and puts a maximum cap on a deposit amount – 50% of one month's rent.
"This gives the opportunity for someone who doesn't have an extra $500 or an extra $1,000 to remove a key barrier to housing," Sittenfeld said.
Cincinnati passed the law at a time when rents are rising and vacant apartments are forecast to become even more scarce. The average monthly rent for a Cincinnati one-bedroom apartment has jumped from $850 in 2017 to about $1,300, with a two-bedroom costing north of $1,600.
As rents rise in Cincinnati and across the nation, security deposit insurance is an option that's gaining wider attention. Ben Carson, secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement that security deposit insurance policies have the potential to "be pivotal in addressing financial frustrations" of renters.
North Carolina state representative Ashton Clemmons said she plans to introduce a bill next year that features security deposit insurance. She said North Carolinians, who once enjoyed decent wages from working in the textile production and manufacturing industries, now find themselves living in places where "rental housing prices continue to increase at a steady rate and wages continue to stagnate."
"People who are making the minimum wage or a couple dollars more lived here back when a two-bedroom, 15 years ago, was $500 a month and now it's $830 and the wages have not increased," Clemmons said. "You're not able to provide that same level of housing as you once were."
In Virginia, state lawmaker Mark Keam has proposed a bill that would give the state's counties, cities and towns the green light to let landlords accept security deposit insurance. Keam said northern Virginia's landing an Amazon headquarters means tech-focused millennials will move into Alexandria, Fairfax and Arlington and those new residents will want less expensive ways to secure housing.
"I would love for my state to be the first one in the nation to do this at the state level," Keam said.
Companies like LeaseLock, SureDeposit and Rhino provide security-deposit policies across the nation. Rhino co-founder Ankur Jain noted that moves like rent control have been divisive among renters and property owners, but security deposit insurance is "such a common sense solution," he said.
"This is the biggest change in housing affordability in decades," Jain said. "People are looking at this and saying this changes upfront housing costs."
"deposit" - Google News
January 23, 2020 at 04:07AM
https://ift.tt/2Rgh6vn
Cincinnati passes law providing alternatives to cash security deposits - CBS News
"deposit" - Google News
https://ift.tt/350q5oO
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment