In an open letter to the Montclair Property Owners Association (MPOA) in February, I wrote:
MPOA isn’t opposed to rent control as a matter of moral principle. The association just doesn’t like the particular version passed by the town council. This approach will fail in the long-term because it cedes the moral principle involved—the right to property.
The rent control ordinance is still being fought in court. However, a rent freeze has been in place since March 2020, and last week the township council extended the freeze until the end of the year.
MPOA argued against the extension, saying “that the rate of inflation and the growing costs of property maintenance were putting landlords at a disadvantage.” This is true, but again, in arguing on practical grounds, MPOA cedes the moral principle involved. As I previously wrote, “Arguing against rent control on the basis of its impracticality is itself impractical.” The same applies to rent freezes, and the ineffectiveness of MPOA’s opposition to the freeze serves as evidence.
Arguments founded on the practicality of a policy are doomed to failure. What is practical is determined by what one wants to practice. Rent control and freezes seek to protect tenants from rent increases, and in this regard, they are very practical. So, when one argues on practical grounds, the issue becomes: practical to whom? Inevitably, some will benefit at the expense of others, and council members will determine the winners and the losers.
One council member noted that some property owners were not opposed to the rent freeze extension. However, property owners are not monolithic. Some may believe that voluntarily freezing rents is in their best interest. Some may believe that raising rents is in their best interest. These are decisions that property owners should be free to make. Indeed, each individual—including tenants—has a moral right to choose the course of action that he believes will be beneficial to him.
The rent freeze makes the property owner’s choices irrelevant. With the rent freeze, a property owner cannot act as he judges best. He must act as council members dictate. When landlords accept the legitimacy of council controlling and restricting their businesses, then the only issue up for debate is the extent and the type of controls and restrictions. This framework must be rejected.
MPOA members must proudly assert their moral right to operate their business as they deem best. Now is not the time to be timid.