“91 Ways” to Create More Affordable Housing

#1 MOST IMPORTANT: Assist landlords by giving them more power to deal with problem tenants. Problem tenants drive up the cost for all good tenants. By helping landlords address tenant problems and reduce unpaid rents, the cost savings will benefit all tenants in reduced rent."
#2 MOST IMPORTANT: Reduce the property tax burden on residential rental property.

1. More supply than demand means cheaper prices
2. Create/allow Enterprise Zones for residential housing – new/rehabbed housing receives a tax abatement
3. Create/allow rental housing to participate in TIF zones so property owners can receive TIF funding for improvements
4. Remove restrictive laws that have down zoned lots and structures.
5. Remove de-conversion requirements for older homes that were converted into small apartments in prior housing crisis.
6. Remove restrictions on using – “grand-fathered” units – they were once fine, Garden apartments
7. Single Family homes that were once converted to several apartments.
8. Rental unit in what is now an owner occupied only building
9. Allow conversion of vacant storefronts in residential areas to apartments.
10. Allow building on smaller lots that were once acceptable size for building.
11. Allow unrelated people to share housing without limitation on relationship.
12. Encourage communities to issue more permits for low income housing by only issuing Community Block Grant funds to those that do.
13. Simplify planning and zoning approval process
14. Remove impact fees that discourage building
15. Streamline and shorten the permitting process
16. Cut the fees required for permits
17. Cut the fees required for inspections
18. Make trades people more available – trade schools, shop classes, etc.
19. Make government owned lots available at discounts to builders who will build smaller homes or apartments.
20. Allow tiny home communities.
21. Allow mobile/manufactured home communities.
22. Encourage local governments to remove restrictive zoning that prevents building of low-income housing.
23. Ease the process of converting vacant industrial space to housing
24. Allow zero lot line building
25. Allow enough new housing permits to keep up with population growth
26. Reduce property taxes
27. Make residential exemptions readily available on residential rentals without lots of hoops to jump through.
28. Make taxes fair and equitable without needing to hire property tax lawyers.
29. Eliminate the fees for registration of rental housing
30. Eliminate the fees for licensing of landlords
31. Eliminate the fees for crime free housing training
32. Eliminate the fees for inspections – or eliminate non-warranted inspections
33. Reduce the complexity of landlord tenant laws
34. Stabilize landlord tenant laws so that attorney on retainer is unnecessary
35. Reduce the penalties associated with Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordinance (CLTO) and other such laws.
36. Eliminate lawsuit abuse and extortion associated with CLTO
37. Make tenants accountable for fines and costs that arise due to their actions
38. Reduce time required to wait for Housing Authority Inspection
39. Reduce costs for evictions
40. Reduce time for evictions (minimize months and months of no income)
41. Eliminate holiday/weather moratoriums that give away landlord’s income but do not reduce their expenses.
42. Reduce the risks so that insurance costs can come down.
43. Provide tax credits for low-income rentals
44. Provide tax credits for landlords who rent properties below market
45. Remove federal income tax penalties for renting below market
46. Provide tax credits to keep low cost housing repaired and available
47. Address lawsuit abuse
48. Address excessive fines for code compliance
49. Remove risk of retroactive law changes
50. Allow landlords to mitigate risks from tenants who habitually do not pay rent on time (eviction risk)
51. Quit threatening the investors with laws taking their property rights and their right to contract.
52. Streamline grants and eliminate the risk of major investment in preconstruction and development costs
53. Remove or lower fines for lead based paint – allowing money to be spent on remediation
54. Remove or lower fines for asbestos– allowing money to be spent on remediation
55. Remove or lower fines for mold – allowing money to be spent on remediation
56. Encourage people to rent their property - rather than making the laws too complicated and dangerous for the average citizen
57. Tenants that are not working and living on public assistance should be offered incentives to move to places that have excess supply of housing.
58. Allow people to share housing.
59. Encourage families to stay intact, even if on public assistance.
60. Change zoning if necessary to allow parents to house children or parents in auxiliary apartments in their homes.
61. Keep raising taxes – it encourages people to move out of state.
62. Allow seller financing
63. Less hoops for lenders when loaning on low priced housing
64. Increase programs where subsidies help people buy homes
65. Down payment loan programs
66. Educational programs for potential home buyers
67. Offer job-training programs.
68. Trade schools
69. Small business mentoring programs
70. Reduce costs of licensing for trades
71. Encourage shared housing, multiple jobs to pay rent
72. Increase money the state will provide for rental assistance to low-income people.
73. Limit time on vouchers w/o working
74. Put shop classes back in schools
75. Offer tax credits to encourage window replacement
76. Offer bonus tax credits for installing solar power in rentals
77. Offer bonus tax credits for installing High Efficiency Furnaces
78. Offer bonus tax credits or programs for installing other energy saving devices
79. Encourage utility companies to supply LED light bulbs for rental housing
80. Encourage lending on low priced housing (reduce cost of underwriting)
81. Allow seller financing
82. Tax credits for rehab over 25% of after repaired value.
83. Make grants or low interest loans available for major rehab that is not economically feasible for low priced rentals.
84. Encourage community/non-profit support of rehabs for low-income rental.
85. Encourage FHA to provide FHA203K loans for rehab of rental properties.
86. Encourage HUD to loosen the requirements on # of rentals allowed in HOA's
87. Encourage HOA's to allow rentals
88. Recognize that throwing taxpayer money at housing is less than productive. It costs far more for government to do something than for the private sector to do it, and when government competes with the private sector it discourages investment.
89. Make better use of the $10 per recording fee that is being charged to supposedly fund Rental Housing Support Program.
90. Institute a tax credit to rental property owners for providing low cost housing.
91. Institute a hard CAP on property taxes of 1% of property value like Indiana and California.