The YIMBY Act aims to make areas more accessible and affordable by increasing housing supply.
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If the pandemic and subsequent economic fallout have taught renters anything, it’s that having safe and secure housing is more important than ever.
Last week, Senators Todd Young (R–Indiana) and Brian Schatz (D–Hawaii) reintroduced the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Act, a bipartisan legislative effort to reduce barriers to building more housing in the U.S. and address critical affordability issues in cities where housing costs have escalated to unaffordable levels.
The demand for apartments far outstrips the supply in much of the country. The result is the nation needs to build 328,000 new apartments annually to meet demand.
The bill would remove barriers that hinder their development, but significant barriers, including exclusionary single-family zoning policies and NIMBY (not in my back yard) opposition have frequently hindered these efforts.
Bob Pinnegar, president and CEO of the National Apartment Association, said the NAA is proud to support the YIMBY Act. “It will help drive housing construction and provide local communities with much-needed guidance to address housing shortages,” he explained.
Perhaps the biggest impact on the rental housing industry has been essential and desperately needed protections for renters. But the nationwide moratoriums merely postpone evictions – they don’t prevent them.
“Like many other industries across the country, the pandemic and subsequent economic fallout have been tough on the rental housing industry,” said Greg Brown, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Apartment Association.
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“The impacts of short-term pandemic policy have been drastic,” he added. “Eviction moratoria leave renters with insurmountable debt and leave rental housing providers to unfairly absorb the burden of unpaid rent totaling $57.3 billion through the end of 2020 with an additional $8 billion in early 2021.”
Brown said, “Ultimately, for an industry that operates on narrow margins – just 10 cents of every rental dollar is profit – there remains little room to absorb delinquent rent when funds must pay for essential operational expenses like property maintenance and mortgages. The outcomes of these unfortunate realities signal a worsening of the housing affordability crisis.”
Before the pandemic, the nation was already faced with a housing affordability crisis, an alarming issue spurred by a lack of housing supply. After 14 months of short-term pandemic policy, the country faces a more drastic crisis as debt continues to accrue and some housing providers consider leaving or are forced from the rental market.
Brown said this all validates his argument to distribute rental assistance funds swiftly and efficiently to make both renters and rental housing providers whole again.
“If these funds aren’t distributed fully, the resulting shortage of affordable housing will impact the nation long-term,” he said, adding that “the legislation provides a solid opportunity for legislators of both parties to unite and work together to build a more sustainable housing industry as we exit the pandemic, ensuring that affordable housing supply remains high for years to come. “
Recent NAA research finds that the housing industry needs to build 4.6 million apartments by 2030 to meet the nation’s housing needs.
Nevertheless, a consistent complaint from the housing industry is that it faces significant barriers to new apartment construction, development and renovation.
“Rising costs and regulatory burdens at all levels of government depress apartment development and rehabilitation nationwide,” said Brown. “The most significant barriers are often imposed by state and local governments. Incentives are needed for government at all levels to remove barriers to apartment development and streamline regulatory burdens.”