Barry Fagin, a Senior Fellow at the Independence Institute in Denver, correctly notes that conservatives are very confused about the meaning of property rights. As examples, he cites Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis’ ban of “vaccine passports” and conservative calls to regulate social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. Fagin concludes that property rights have fallen out of fashion with conservatives. “What’s more important seems to be forcing property owners to do things conservatives want. If that’s different from liberals forcing property owners to do things liberals want, the difference escapes me.”
An example of Fagin’s point can be found in a piece on The Hill. Jarrett Skorup , who works at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy–a free market think tank in Michigan–correctly writes that prohibitions of short-term rentals violate property rights. However, he also suggests that we also need a “balanced approach [that will] allow local governments to regulate property use through zoning laws.” He goes on to write that any zoning laws developed for short-term rentals should also be applied to “all types of rental agreements.” In other words, it is appropriate and acceptable to shackle the owners of short-term rentals, but only if the owners of other rental properties are similarly shackled. To paraphrase Fagin, Skorup isn’t opposed to government dictating how owners may use their property. If that is different from prohibiting owners from using their property in certain ways, the difference escapes me.
Cory Brewer, a vice president at a property management company in Seattle, writes that laws intended to protect tenants are only making the housing shortage worse. Citing data from a dozen other property managers in the Seattle area, he found that rental property owners sold 229 homes during 2020. Through the middle of this year, another 159 homes have been sold, which is on pace for a 38 percent increase. Rental owners cite the city’s spate of new “tenant’s rights” laws as a primary reason for selling. Just as minimum wage laws only benefit those who are fortunate to have a job, “tenant’s rights” laws only benefit those who are fortunate to have a rental home. And, just as minimum wage laws reduce the jobs available to low-skilled workers, “tenant’s rights” laws reduce the housing available to low-income individuals.