Key Highlights
- President Trump and former Vice President Biden see things differently on affordability, discrimination, rentals and evictions, housing-related taxes and homelessness
- Trump’s position across all housing issues favors fewer regulations and more privatization whereas Biden’s position stresses regulations to enforce fair housing policies and regulatory applications to lending and foreclosure process via a “Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights”
- Trump’s 2017 tax plan limited state and local tax and mortgage interest deductions to favor people in states in more affordable areas
- Biden would roll back Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and give first-time homebuyers $15,000 tax credit
Now that both President Trump and former Vice President Biden are the nominees of their respective parties for President in 2020, let’s take a brief look at their platforms and philosophies relating to housing issues. Here we’ll summarize their differing points of view on housing affordability, discrimination, rentals and evictions, taxes and homelessness.
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Housing Affordability
Trump:
- Required local authorities to self-certify that housing was affordable
- 2017 tax cuts included incentives for builders to build housing in low income “opportunity zones” claiming that the program poured $100B of new investment “into 9,000 of our most distressed neighborhoods in the country”
- Investors in Opportunity Zones gleaned highly favorable tax incentives for participating in this program
- Reinforces Trump philosophy that favors cutting regulations
Biden:
- Identifies lack of supply as root of affordability problems
- Promises to invest $640B over next 10 years to increase supply of more affordable housing and to provide “financial assistance…to buy or rent safe, quality housing” via fed’s Housing Trust Fund
Housing Discrimination
Biden:
- Proposes “Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights” to prevent landlords, lenders and housing protections for homeowners from discriminatory practices
- Wants to eliminate local regulations that perpetuate discrimination in such areas as zoning
Trump:
- Rescinded Obama-era anti-discrimination regulations
- Wants local authorities to define local regulations and self-certifications
Rentals and Evictions
Trump:
- Federal government did impose eviction moratorium on federal assisted properties during coronavirus
- Did not offer straight-forward extension of original eviction moratorium but asked regulators to “consider” such extensions through the end of this year
Biden:
- Calls for “eviction diversion programs” rentals and renters and says that no one, homeowner or renter, should face eviction of foreclosure during pandemic
- Wants legislation to help tenants facing eviction to have legal assistance
Housing-related Taxes
Biden:
- Would toll back Trump’s tax cuts including deduction rules for local/state taxes and mortgage interest
- Would give first-time homebuyers $15,000 tax credit
Trump:
- Would keep 2017 tax cuts and deduction rules on mortgage interest (no more than &750,000) and local/state tax deductions (no more than $10,000) relating to housing
- Tax changes favored people living in more affordable states and did not benefit those living in pricey, coastal markets
Homelessness
Trump:
- Focuses criticism on homelessness in more urban areas
- Did, however, approve some $3B in homeless assistance funding in conjunction with CARE Act
Biden:
- Calls for emergency funding for shelters and vouchers
- Prioritizes “housing first” strategies
- Endorses special policies for targeted groups such as veterans, LBGT individuals and disabled individuals
Mortgages
Trump:
- Plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
- Wants more privatization and less government involvement in housing market
Biden:
- Goes for $15,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners
- Goes for federal regulations on mortgage lending to protect homebuyers from discriminatory practices
- Sees federal government as partner, not enemy
Thanks to InmanNews.
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