Category Archives: Uncategorized

California is addressing the inflationary impact of security deposits.  AB 12 (2023 | CA) will limit security deposits to one month’s rent. If signed by the Governor, California will be the 12th state to pass a cap on security deposits. For the curious, AB 12 exempts small landlords with 2 properties and less than 4 units. Daily […]

Does your state allow cameras to secretly record inside short term rentals? Deep down in the South, Georgia has a law that prevents recording people on private property without their knowledge, except to for security purposes. That makes short term rental security cameras complicated. A poll says that 6 in 10 are worried about being […]

“Converting Brown Offices to Green Apartments,” is a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, researchers at New York University and Columbia University that identified thousands of properties nationwide as physically suitable to be converted into apartments. It identifies 50+ buildings in Dallas – Fort Worth for conversion to residential properties. The report also lists […]

4 states are requiring home sellers & landlords to disclose whether a property has flooded. New York, New Jersey, South Carolina and North Carolina are requiring flood disclosures.  The Natural Resources Defense Council stresses that Louisiana and Texas have very strong disclosure laws concerning flood risk. And, tenants in Indiana, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, Oklahoma, California […]

 A study of the homeless in Canada who received stipends found that the unhoused spent the stipends on housing and transportation.  There was NO increase in spending on “temptation goods.” As an added bonus, governmental entities spent less on shelter costs for the homeless. @washingtonpost

Let’s thank reddit for legislative game plans to reign in home owner associations (HOAs). A reddit thread discusses how to change the law so that HOAs cannot prevent a landowner from adopting an environmentally friendly landscaping style. Other legislative propositions included limiting HOA reach to only the lands owned by the HOA. Hummm… so a […]

How did Environment Texas successfully pass legislation to add $1 billion to state parks? (1) Data. Texas is 35th in per capita state park acreage. That’s less than Florida. (2) personalized the data with anecdotes from Texans (3) bipartisan support (4) Harris County delegation support (5) bringing legislative experts into the team (6) press and […]

Citing wildfires, construction costs, and other matters, some say home insurance carriers are leaving the California market. Most recently, AmGUARD Insurance, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies and Falls Lake have ceased offering home insurance policies in California. The San Francisco Standard | Over 50,000 To Lose Homeowners Insurance as Two More Insurers […]

Boston is offering incentives to convert office buildings into residences. The incentives include waiving up to 75% of property taxes for up to 29 years. Philadelphia has had property tax incentives for converting buildings into residences for decades and the incentives are credited for revitalizing parts of City Center. Governing | Cities Explore Ways to […]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the 5th largest landowner in the U.S. the Catholic Diocese owns land in almost every county in the country. This sparked a law in Minnesota that preempts local zoning laws and allows faith-based organizations to build shelters for homeless individuals on their property. Atlanta did the […]