Georgia’s Presidential Primary: Biden And Sanders On Housing
Georgia is considered a state where it’s pretty easy to evict tenants. Landlords can send tenants eviction notices the day after they’re late on rent.
Rogelio V. Solis / Associated Press
Next week, Georgia voters finally will get to choose their preferred candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. And for the first time, housing is a key issue in the contest.
Candidates have fielded questions about affordable housing, discrimination and homelessness in national debates. The two remaining, former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, have also released significant housing plans.
The two plans could affect how people live in Georgia. Here are some highlights from the candidates’ proposals:
Evictions
Georgia is considered a state where it’s pretty easy to evict tenants. Landlords can send tenants eviction notices the day after they’re late on rent.
Neither of the candidates’ plans would prevent such eviction filings. Instead, they try to provide tenants with a better legal defense in court. Biden and Sanders are proposing new federal grant programs that would give states and counties money in order to provide tenants with the right to counsel.
Sanders also goes one step further. He calls for a “just-cause” requirement for evictions. He doesn’t spell out what that requirement would be–only that it would prohibit landlords from evicting for arbitrary or retaliatory reasons.
Rent Control
Georgia is one of more than 30 states with a ban on rent control. That means cities and counties aren’t allowed to tell private property owners what to charge for rent.
Sanders’ housing plan would change that. He promises to push for rent control nationwide—something that hasn’t existed since the era of World War II.
While Biden’s plan doesn’t mention rent control, he proposes a “renter’s tax credit.” That would reduce the cost of rent and utilities to just 30 percent of low-income families’ budgets.
Investors
Biden proposes a new bill of rights for renters and homeowners. It would aim to curb predatory lending practices and prohibit discrimination against certain renters, like those using federal housing subsidies known as Section 8. Sanders too wants to end discrimination against Section 8 holders.
Recently, Atlanta adopted an ordinance that makes the federal voucher holders a protected class in the city’s fair housing law but the rule’s legality is in dispute. Georgia prohibits local governments from expanding fair housing protections.
Sanders also calls for a 25% tax on house flippers and a new tax on investors who own vacant homes. Both policies could have an impact on Atlanta, where neighborhoods, especially in the northwest part of the city, still deal with vacant properties held by speculators.
The two plans from the Democratic candidates include much more than touched on here. See the full set of campaign promises from Biden and Sanders.
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