Category: Housing
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New State Law offers Landowners the “Freedom” to Build Exactly What the Government Wants Built
by James C. Sherlock Democrats have given Virginians the “freedom” to build: They want single-family homeowners to be able to build an additional dwelling on their property in residential areas without having to comply with local residential zoning ordinances. So Governor Spanberger signed Senate Bill 531 Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs)…
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What Do You Want In Your Neighborhood (and City)?
by Jon Baliles For some time now, the city has been engaged in an effort to update the city’s zoning ordinance which was written in 1976. Richmond has come a loooong way in that time in many ways and in other ways…not so much. The latest zoning effort, known as Code Refresh, has generated much…
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“Affordability” Watch: Mandatory AC for Rental Units
From LoudounNow: “Legislation by Del. Marty Martinez (D-29) that would add air conditioning to the list of services labeled “essential” when supplied by landlords has received approval from a House committee. “Essential services for rental units are regulated by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and must be maintained by the landlord. Currently, the…
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Keeping up With Mamdani, Part II
Publicly owned housing is such a roaring success that Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria, wants to create more of it.
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Keeping up with Mamdani
Like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, some Virginia Democrats want to achieve “affordability” through rent control. by Hans Bader In Virginia, some legislators want to give local governments the ability to impose cumbersome rent controls on housing. That’s a mistake. Rent control killed multifamily housing construction in Maryland’s most populous county. Getting rid of…
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The “Targeted Relief” That Missed the Target
by Jon Baliles For years we have heard the city needs more affordable housing. For years we have heard that cutting the real estate tax rate only helps the rich. And for years, anytime someone brings up the discussion about offering relief to everyone, the conversation turns to the need for “targeted relief.” When the…
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OK, Boomer, Where’re You Going to Live When You Get Old?
Jim Bacon chats with Matt Thornhill, founder of Cozy Homes Community. Millions of aging Americans have too much money to get government assistance but not enough to move to an upscale independent-living community. In any case, most would like to age in place in their own home. If Thornhill’s middle-market housing solution gets off the…
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Assess Yourself a Tax Break (Since City Hall Won’t)
by Jon Baliles If you own property in the City of Richmond, you likely received your new assessment in the mail this week, and in almost every neighborhood, property values have once again gone up, with some areas seeing double digit increases. Many areas saw increases above the citywide average increase citywide of 5.74%. That…
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Judge Harrisonburg Council on Link Vote
by Joe Fitzgerald Those who miss daily journalism could probably name the stories that have slipped under the radar this year. One is the county’s attempt to take over Massanutten Technical Center and the city’s decision to reject their bullying. Those who managed to keep up with the details knew the split was inevitable, with…
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The Link, the Vista, and K-12
Twenty-five years of student housing generating students by Joe Fitzgerald History, arithmetic, evidence. Those are just some of the things that suggest a student housing glut is a major factor driving enrollment growth in Harrisonburg City Public Schools. They’re also some of the things City Council members can legally and politically ignore in making decisions…
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The Vanishing Starter Home
by Dick Hall-Sizemore When I moved to Richmond in the early 1970s, fresh out of graduate school, my wife and I rented a house for a couple of years. Then, with the help from my in-laws with the down payment, we purchased a “starter” home—a three-bedroom, one-bath, brick rancher, much like the one we had been…
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VanValkenburg Takes Another Crack at Affordable Housing
by James A. Bacon I’m beginning to think that Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, is my favorite Democrat. Admittedly, my list of Democrats whose policies I like is a short one, so it’s not a high bar to clear. But I’d go one step further. VanValkenburg is generating ideas to address affordable housing that could be…
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Reassessment Blues
I just opened my reassessment notice from Henrico County. The assessment of my house is 13.5 percent higher than it was last year! It is not a grand or fancy house. Just a brick Cape Cod with about 1,300 sq.ft, built in 1955. It is not the house; it is the neighborhood. Houses stay on…
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Build, Baby, Build
by James A. Bacon Who would have guessed? An apartment boom in Austin has knocked down rents for 19 straight months. There’s an ongoing debate in the comments of Bacon’s Rebellion on how to address the housing affordability crisis in Virginia. My answer is simple: Build more housing. Doesn’t matter if it’s geared to higher-income…
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Rent Control Bill Would Hurt Housing Stock
by Hans Bader Raising rent to keep up with inflation isn’t what most people would consider “rent gouging,” even when the landlord has to increase rent by more than 3%. For example, Washington, D.C.’s rent control board allowed most landlords to raise rents in recent years at annual rates such as 8.9% and 6.2%. But…