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The underlying problem appears to be a shortage of affordable housing together with the ongoing conversion of housing ownership from homeowners and small landlords to large (private equity and institutional) landlords. As small landlords, my husband and I have made a conscious effort to provide affordable housing for 30+ years. We've done all of our management and most of our maintenance ourselves. The large landlords hire out both the management and the maintenance and must produce a competitive return on investment, hence the need for higher rents. The large landlords have been buying out the single family homes, duplexes, and apartment buildings throughout the nation pushing up housing prices which, in turn, also increases rents. The small landlord is placed in a pickle: (a) If it does not increase rents, it will not get current market price when it's time to sell; (b) If it does not increase rents, it will be bootstrapped by lower rents for years to come should rent control become law. In short, today's seemingly worsened problems between landlords and tenants are really just a reflection of the underlying economic problems. My recommendations: (1) Get an accurate understanding of the changing face of housing ownership over the past 30 years. (2) Seek remedies that will create a sufficient supply of affordable housing because the rest will then take care of itself. (3) Please consult with American Institute of Economic Research (aier.org). Attached is one of their excellent research articles on rent control. They've also recently written how zoning laws may inadvertently be suppressing construction of new housing.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input. This housing problem is happening in sync with the problem of agricultural land ownership as I have witnessed right in my backyard. Our government is subsidizing the purchase of farmland by industrial farms, and as a result, most people can no longer afford rural land whether for housing, agriculture or business. Could it be that our underlying housing problem was caused, at least in part, by our government subsidizing, directly or indirectly, the acquisition of housing by large landlords?