Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2020 10:57:54 GMT -5
I was a landlord. We need to cancel rent. (Your letters)
To the Editor:
I became a landlord after my father died. Both of my parents were landlords, and some of my earliest memories involve sitting in the back seat of my parents’ car as they shuttled between rental properties in downtown Rochester. I’m here to tell you that it’s time to cancel rent.
Even before this crisis, millions of renters were treading water. A study from last year found that nearly half of all New York families are paying more than 30% of their income on rent, with the heaviest burden falling on black and brown families. This pandemic has placed tenants — in every corner of our state — under a new level of financial pressure.
A defining characteristic of the past 40 years has been the shifting of risk from a wealthy investor class to the most vulnerable people in our society. We saw this during the Great Recession, when banks were bailed out despite their predatory practices and millions of families were displaced from their homes. We’re seeing it again with a deeply flawed stimulus package that gives billions to corporations with little oversight and no guarantee that workers will be retained once the crisis is over.
Small landlords will need relief, but the burden to prove hardship should be on those who have assumed risk, not on everyday tenants. Gov.. Andrew Cuomo has the authority to protect tenants by waiving rent for the duration of this crisis. The fact that he has failed to do so shows a disappointing lack of empathy for families struggling with a sudden loss of income.
The Emergency Rent Relief Act passed last month by the state Legislature fails to meet the scale of this crisis. The $100 million rent bill falls short of providing relief and hundreds of thousands of families will be at risk of losing their homes in several weeks. Houston’s $15 million relief fund was claimed in less than two hours.
Our lack of investment in public housing and agencies like NYCHA has turned housing into a speculation game and left us with a dire shortage of affordable units. Rents continue to outpace wages and the number of people without stable housing has increased dramatically over the past decade. We need a deep investment in public housing across our state and the creation of new supportive housing units that end the homelessness crisis once and for all.
Many property owners are doing the right thing by reducing or waiving rent for struggling families. But unfortunately, they are the exception, not the rule. Without swift action from our state and federal leaders, I fear mass displacement and homelessness. Suspending rent is how we can prevent the next crisis from taking shape.
Ravi Mangla
Citizen Action of New York
Rochester
www.syracuse.com/opinion/2020/06/i-was-a-landlord-we-need-to-cancel-rent-your-letters.html
Good letter. I was listening to Dave Ramsey Show and he mentioned that renters or owners should not be paying more than 30% of income on home and even lower is better.
To the Editor:
I became a landlord after my father died. Both of my parents were landlords, and some of my earliest memories involve sitting in the back seat of my parents’ car as they shuttled between rental properties in downtown Rochester. I’m here to tell you that it’s time to cancel rent.
Even before this crisis, millions of renters were treading water. A study from last year found that nearly half of all New York families are paying more than 30% of their income on rent, with the heaviest burden falling on black and brown families. This pandemic has placed tenants — in every corner of our state — under a new level of financial pressure.
A defining characteristic of the past 40 years has been the shifting of risk from a wealthy investor class to the most vulnerable people in our society. We saw this during the Great Recession, when banks were bailed out despite their predatory practices and millions of families were displaced from their homes. We’re seeing it again with a deeply flawed stimulus package that gives billions to corporations with little oversight and no guarantee that workers will be retained once the crisis is over.
Small landlords will need relief, but the burden to prove hardship should be on those who have assumed risk, not on everyday tenants. Gov.. Andrew Cuomo has the authority to protect tenants by waiving rent for the duration of this crisis. The fact that he has failed to do so shows a disappointing lack of empathy for families struggling with a sudden loss of income.
The Emergency Rent Relief Act passed last month by the state Legislature fails to meet the scale of this crisis. The $100 million rent bill falls short of providing relief and hundreds of thousands of families will be at risk of losing their homes in several weeks. Houston’s $15 million relief fund was claimed in less than two hours.
Our lack of investment in public housing and agencies like NYCHA has turned housing into a speculation game and left us with a dire shortage of affordable units. Rents continue to outpace wages and the number of people without stable housing has increased dramatically over the past decade. We need a deep investment in public housing across our state and the creation of new supportive housing units that end the homelessness crisis once and for all.
Many property owners are doing the right thing by reducing or waiving rent for struggling families. But unfortunately, they are the exception, not the rule. Without swift action from our state and federal leaders, I fear mass displacement and homelessness. Suspending rent is how we can prevent the next crisis from taking shape.
Ravi Mangla
Citizen Action of New York
Rochester
www.syracuse.com/opinion/2020/06/i-was-a-landlord-we-need-to-cancel-rent-your-letters.html
Good letter. I was listening to Dave Ramsey Show and he mentioned that renters or owners should not be paying more than 30% of income on home and even lower is better.
