#housing-policy

#housing-policy

Consider the lawsuit brought by members of the City Council's Common Sense Caucus last month. The complaint argued that while the members don't oppose increasing the city's housing stock, three measures that will appear on the November ballot aimed at streamlining housing construction mislead voters. State Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Pearlman on Wednesday denied the group's petition, which asked the court to void the questions until an environmental review of the potential impact of the proposals is completed.

In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a major bill that allows apartment buildings near major transit stops. This has been a major goal of the state's housing reformers. Yet the new law is a complex animal with lots of staggered implementation dates and local flexibility built in. It'll be years before we have a real fix on how well it's working.

Under the terms of their new policy, the Greens would put more regulation and taxes on private rentals to make it difficult for landlords to make a profit, while boosting housebuilding by councils. It would use existing Green policies such as imposing rent controls, ending buy-to-let mortgages and giving councils the 'right to buy' a rental property when it is sold at a discounted price.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

This year, San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener passed a bill that will allow mid-rise housing to be built near transit stops, a win for the pro-housing lawmaker who'd seen two previous attempts collapse before even reaching the Senate floor, blocked by lawmakers concerned about state interference in local land-use decisions. On multiple occasions this year, Senate Bill 79 just narrowly escaped the same fate - saved only by a bit of legislative maneuvering by Wiener.

In anticipation of the upcoming mayoral election in New York City on Nov. 4, the suburban housing markets are experiencing a surge in activity, largely attributed to Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, leading in the polls. Mamdani's housing policies have prompted some wealthy residents to consider moving to the suburbs, particularly Westchester County. The Harrison Team at Compass, Westchester-based real estate agents, have noted a significant increase in Manhattan residents interested in suburban properties following Mamdani's primary victory.

In anticipation of the upcoming mayoral election in New York City on Nov. 4, the suburban housing markets are experiencing a surge in activity, largely attributed to Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, leading in the polls. Mamdani's housing policies have prompted some wealthy residents to consider moving to the suburbs, particularly Westchester County. The Harrison Team at Compass, Westchester-based real estate agents, have noted a significant increase in Manhattan residents interested in suburban properties following Mamdani's primary victory.

The memo arrived nearly two months after Austin lost a $105 million grant for the Interstate 35 cap-and-stitch program, which was initially awarded last year. That funding was lost as part of a national rescission of unobligated Neighborhood Access & Equity awards, even though the city had already committed $104 million in local money to ensure structural supports are included in TxDOT's rebuild of I-35 through downtown.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.

This week we posted three videos on our short video channels, two of which focused on providing less-than-a-minute summaries on two news stories. The other re-debunked some fake news from the summer because the misinformation was repeated this week by President Donald Trump. On Monday, we posted the TikTok version of our legislative update, the text version was also published on Monday.

George Osbourne launched LISAs in his 2016 Budget. The idea was to help people save for their first home or retirement, but the product itself is not fit for that purpose and now costs the Government £3bn a year. The LISA allows the user to put in a maximum of £4,000 of savings a year, with the Government then adding a further 25% for every £1 contributed, thus giving a maximum saving of £5,000 a year.

In the four years since I took office, one of my foundational beliefs has been the importance of the office of New York governor working hand in hand with the mayor of New York City for the betterment of the 8.3 million residents we both represent. The question of who will be the next mayor is one I take extremely seriously and to which I have devoted a great deal of thought. Tonight I am endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

would put a wide range of land use decisions in the hands of mayoral appointees.

Senate Bill 79, one of the more ambitious state-imposed housing density efforts in recent years, is now a final Senate concurrence vote and a Gov. Gavin Newsom signature away from taking effect. The bill was introduced in March by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who stresses that the state needs to take immediate action to address California's housing shortage. It paves the way for taller, denser housing near transit corridors such as bus stops and train stations:

A housing emergency declaration could be in the nation's near future, according to one of President Trump's top cabinet officials. Donald Trump is considering making such a declaration in the fall, Bloomberg reported. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said as much in a comment to the Washington Examiner, a move that would likely raise the profile of the country's housing market as a key point in the 2026 midterm election.

New York is a very different city from when Mayor Ed Koch was faced with upwards of 100,000 properties having been foreclosed on for property tax arrears but current rates of delinquency are on the rise. Multifamily owners are squeezed by limitations on rent increases baked into the 2019 Housing Stability and Protection Act, rising interest rates, and costs for insurance, among other things.

Angela Rayner is poised to introduce tougher sanctions on councils in England that block local housing developments. Councils could be forced to approve new housing developments overturning locally agreed plans under stricter rules or risk handing over control of their planning departments to Whitehall officials. Rayner, who has come under pressure this week for adding to her constituency residence and grace-and-favour home in London with the purchase of an 800,000 apartment near Brighton, already has considerable powers to overrule councils that block housing developments.