On May 1, St. Paul’s draconian rent control ordinance took effect. The law caps rent increases to 3 percent, though property owners can appeal to government officials for a higher increase. In June, Dominium, a local housing producer, notified tenants in one of its apartment buildings that rents would be increasing by 7.97 percent. Tenants and housing activists are crying foul because a victim is resisting.
For its part, Dominium points out that it receives low-income housing tax credits through the department of Housing and Urban Developments’ Section 42 program. Because the properties are governed by federal regulations, the company argues that they are already subject to rent control. Ceding the moral high ground, Dominium is arguing that St. Paul can’t control its business because the federal government already does.
Dominium, like all rental property owners, is a victim of St. Paul’s rent control ordinance. They are no longer permitted to raise rents as they deem best. They can only increase rents as government officials decree appropriate.
Those complaining about Dominium’s action seem surprised that the victim is resisting their efforts to exert control over the company. Apparently, housing activists believe that housing producers should suck it up and take one for the team.
The operative word in rent control is control, and that is precisely what housing activists and tenants want—control over housing producers. They don’t want landlords to be free to act on their own judgment. Instead, they want government officials to dictate what actions landlords can legally take.
It shouldn’t be surprising when a victim resists or fights back. When one’s livelihood is threatened, as is the case with rent control, it is morally imperative to resist or fight back. And when the issue involves a moral principle, as is the case with rent control, resistance must focus on the moral principle. Unfortunately, while resisting the rent control ordinance, Dominium isn’t fighting it on moral principle.
Statists of every variety want subservience. At least for now, Dominium is unwilling to kneel down in servitude to the statists in St. Paul’s city government.