In response, some code officers from Gettysburg have stated that this will not be the case. They claim that years of having the same rules in place at Gettysburg have not resulted in declining home values and landlords leaving town. As a matter of fact, officers have claimed that the rules have contributed to landlords' ability to attract good tenants and have actually led to property value increases.

The proposed new rules will be discussed by the Borough Council within the week and a vote is expected to be called a few days after council deliberation. The rules were reportedly introduced by Borough Manager Jason Bobst in June.

Under the proposed new home rentals regulations, absentee landlords would have to have a manager who resides within a five-mile radius of the borough. Landlords would also be required to have annual licenses for each unit being rented, with renewals available only to those with good records. In addition, yearly inspections will be held and a deposit for each unit designed to cover abandonment and non-maintenance costs would be paid to the borough.

Pottstown borough officials have stated that the rules will be effective in improving rental property situations in the area as proven by Gettysburg which already has the same guidelines in place. However, critics of the proposed rules have stated that officials have not canvassed the public's opinion about the rules.

Meanwhile, a number of landlords have opposed the new regulations, claiming that they are oppressive and can lead to abuse of power. They added that the current rules in place are standard regulations and have served the area well so they should not be changed or modified.

The debate surrounding the proposed new rules on home rentals will soon be resolved as the council is set to deliberate within the week. The final decision on whether these rules would be implemented or not will be known to all residents in the coming weeks.

According to reports, the president of Harvard lives at Tory Row in Cambridge in a Colonial residence with an estimated monthly rental value of $8,000. Meanwhile, the Northeastern president lives at Beacon Hill in a five-story town house with an estimated monthly rent of little over $6,000, while his MIT counterpart occupies a home near Charles River which rents for $5,800 per month.

According to the IRS, the new rule aims to present a more transparent picture of the way school administrators are rewarded. However, an examination by Globe shows that colleges vary in the way they interpret the IRS requirement. Some schools assessed the value of entire luxury homes for rent, while others considered only the portions that qualify as private residences.

The variation happens because some college presidents’ houses reserve the ground floor for entertaining students, alumni, faculty and visiting dignitaries and is considered public space. As an example, Boston University president Robert Brown describes his home as an apartment located above a restaurant because the house serves as venue for university functions every week. Brown’s home is considered the most expensive, with an estimated monthly rent of over $20,000.

The instructions from the IRS, according to universities, did not specify the portions of the houses that should be included when executive compensations are added up. Most private colleges admitted that they just decided to value the entire property without considering which parts serve as their presidents’ personal living quarters.

Some local realtors who specialize in luxury homes for rent have argued that some universities have undervalued the rental rates for their top executives’ homes. They also asserted that most of these homes would fetch significantly higher rents in the open market than what the schools reported.

The proposal was meant to prevent owners of apartments from implementing rent increases between May and October 2010. The ordinance was reportedly proposed to give tenants some respite from the impact of the nationwide recession. The City Council ended up voting 10 to five against the proposal. It has now been sent to a committee for another study. Meanwhile, landlords can raise rents starting July 1 by up to three percent.

Following the vote, protesters made up of tenants and tenants’ rights advocates, reportedly caused chaos at the council meeting by shouting at council members and waving slogans. The protesters were said to have waited for five hours to hear the result of the vote. Upon hearing the result, they reportedly filled the aisle of the Council Chamber and police had to be called in to get them to leave.

According to some council members, the protesters expressed their anger over the vote for the property for rent measure in a violent manner and refused to heed the call for order. Three protesters were arrested after police officers were called in to restore calm to the Chamber. Some members of the Los Angeles Community Action Network, an advocacy group that participated in the protest, have revealed that one of the three arrested individuals was injured while being restrained by the police.

The group of protesters had stated that they will go to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division station in support of the arrested individuals. Those who were arrested will be booked at the station and members of the demonstrating group have vowed to remain at the same station until their three colleagues were released.

The measure that would have prevented property for rent owners from raising rents have been voted down by the Los Angeles City Council. The ordinance is now in the hands of a special committee that will review the proposal further.

One of the two properties, called Aire, has 42 stories and 310 units. It was developed by the firm A & R Kalimian Realty. The rent for two-bedroom comes at a minimum of $6,000. The other newcomer, Corner, is comprised of 19 stories and 196 units. Corner was developed by Gotham Organization. The two-bedroom monthly rent for Corner starts at $8,000.

According to local rental market observers, these rents are around three times more than the usual two-bedroom rents required by most properties in the area as of March 2010. For Corner, the highest rent for three-bedrooms starts at $18,000, while Aire rents can reach as much as $20,000.

Despite the relatively high rents required by the two buildings, local real estate analysts believe that they will not have any problem getting tenants. They added that properties rental in the league of Aire and Corner is starting to attract more people. They cited the Grand Tier, a building that rents for a start of $7,000, as example.

Properties near the 72nd Street have been moving towards upscale accommodations in the past few years. Realtors have stated that this trend is evident through properties for-rent like the Time Warner Center, the Central Park West condominium and condominium units at the Apple Bank.

Rental property experts have also stated that the amenities of Corner and Aire demonstrate the shift from regular walk-ups to more upscale properties. Reports revealed that every room of the Corner has a dryer and washer, glass shelves and medicine cabinets in the bathrooms.

Meanwhile, Aire units were designed like a boutique hotel, with pedestal sinks, stainless refrigerators and mahogany floors being just some of the amenities. Rooms at the Aire range between 415 square feet and 2,000 square feet.

Properties rental in the Upper West Side used to be dominated by walk-up buildings with cheaper rental rates. The opening of Aire and Corner is being seen by local market observers as a sign that the area is now moving towards doorman-guarded buildings and more upscale properties.

Many communities managed by HOAs have strict rules about renting out or requirements that must be followed by owners who decide to rent out their homes.

But because of the hard times, HOAs have been forced to relax some of their rules to help homeowners struggling from financial troubles and to prevent unoccupied foreclosed units from causing blight.

At Heritage Isles, a middle-income community in New Tampa, the percentage of renters has increased to about 28 percent of all households in the area. The community owns a golf course, but it is not able to sustain the required maintenance because of inadequate funds. Townhouse prices in the community have dropped to just $100,000.

According to Heritage community manager Michael Tillotson, since the community has allowed renting out since the opening of the community in the late 1990s, it has developed rules for homeowners turning their properties into homes for rent. Landlords are required to hire a landscaping firm to maintain the properties and to submit copies of their notarized leases and the rental certificates issued by city officials.

Tillotson said Heritage Isles has not had serious problems with compliance so it has not experienced some of the problems faced by communities with a lot of troublesome renters.

Even the upscale gated community Cheval in Lutz is now seeing a sharp surge in renters. HOA president Tim McClain said that problems arise when owners do not tell their renters the restrictions. He added he understands the need to rent out because there are now a rising number of Cheval owners who can no longer afford to stay in Cheval.

In FishHawk Ranch, enterprising realtors are making rentals as part of their business. They look for homeowners who want to rent out their homes and then manage the rentals for the owners.

In some communities facing problems arising from rentals, some residents plan to ban renting out. But according to investor-owners, it is not easy revising the rules. HOAs need the majority vote to make amendments to HOA regulations.

All in all, residents of communities do not like banning homes for rent because renting out helps owners; they just like to remind owners to ensure that renters follow community rules.

The analysts predicted that apartment rents in Tampa will drop further by four percent even if demand will rise slightly. The average vacancy rate is expected to rise to 10.8 percent from the previous month’s rate of 10.5 percent.

The average apartment rent is also expected to fall this year to $767 from $797 in 2009. Rents have fallen by about 10 percent from the average rent of $843 in 2008.

Over the same periods, vacancy rates have grown sharply from 6.9 percent in 2007, when a lot of condo conversions occurred, to 8.7 percent the following year. The months between 2008 and 2009 experienced drastic vacancy increases as the period accumulated nearly 180 basis points in rate growth.

In the Marcus & Millichap study, which surveyed 544 major rental markets across the U.S. for its 2010 apartment report, Tampa again ranked 40th based on economic performance. It was preceded by Fort Lauderdale in the ranking, but it performed better than West Palm Beach. Jacksonville ranked the lowest among Florida markets.

Washington, D.C. remains the strongest market in the U.S. for multifamily properties for rent despite a strong competition from San Diego, which surpassed four places in the ranking to become the second strongest.

According to real estate analysts, the U.S. capital is expected to emerge from the downturn much ahead of other metro areas. San Diego, meanwhile, is expected to continue experiencing lower vacancy rates and higher rental rates.

One concern that could affect rental property recovery is the shadow rental sector – comprised by properties not formally registered or not yet approved as rentals. Fannie Mae has been planning to allow distressed owners of Fannie-guaranteed homes to rent the properties for up to one year as they find out ways to reorganize their finances and weigh their housing options. This could further beef up the shadow market.

Investors looking to enter the property rental sector can explore student housing, Marcus & Millichap advised. In 2009, student housing exceeded rental expectations and surpassed apartment rental performance, posting a nationwide vacancy rate of only 7 to 7.5 percent.

Additionally, investors can also consider properties for rent in Tampa, where the median price in rental communities have dropped from $58,438 per apartment unit in 2008 to $54,671 per apartment unit in 2009.

Because of low rents, landlords cannot collect enough money to make repairs, even emergency repairs like burst pipes. Banks that foreclose on rental properties also refuse to make repairs, arguing that the properties have become nonperforming assets.

One rental building in Arbor Hill facing foreclosure is the multi-unit apartment complex at 299 Clinton, which is owned by nonprofit affordable housing entity St. Joseph’s Housing Corporation.

Due to financial difficulties, St. Joseph’s defaulted on its loan payments for its rental buildings in Arbor Hill, including 299 Clinton. Mortgage lender JP Morgan Chase Bank was forced to file foreclosure actions against St. Joseph’s Housing.

In December 2008, lawyer William Keniry was appointed by a New York Supreme Court judge as receiver for the Clinton property and other buildings owned by St. Joseph’s which are in foreclosure.

But despite the receivership, tenants of 299 Clinton and other buildings failed to get the repairs and maintenance that they needed. Keniry explained that St. Joseph’s did not have enough money to pay for repairs and that the rents collected were not enough to repair the homes for rent.

Keniry added that JP Morgan Chase also refused to provide funds for repairs, stating that the rental buildings were nonperforming assets. According to housing advocates like Roger Markovics of advocacy group United Tenants of Albany, disputes between landlords and mortgage lenders have become common during the economic downturn.

Markovics said that oftentimes landlords facing foreclosures have given up and therefore have no more interest in or money for making repairs. Similarly, bank lawyers make arguments about the lack of accountability of banks for needed repairs and maintenance work.

In December last year, St. Joseph’s Housing filed documents in court for bankruptcy protection to block JP Morgan from auctioning off the rental buildings. Martha Hobbs, head of St. Joseph’s, also blamed the receiver for not winterizing the buildings and for the worsening of the conditions of the buildings.

But according to housing advocates, St. Joseph’s Housing has a history of not being able to maintain its properties and properly screening renters. In response, St. Joseph’s argued that it cannot raise rents to a level where it can collect enough to be able to make needed repairs and maintenance on its homes for rent.

Under this new legislation, owners of rental housing built after 1979 will have to follow tenant eviction laws followed by owners of residential rental properties built before 1979. Under tenant eviction laws prior to 1979, landlords are prohibited from evicting renters without a reasonable cause. Tenants can only be evicted by just reasons such as breach of lease contract or failure to pay rent.

The new legislation would affect about 20,000 residential rental properties built after 1979 and about 10,000 units more which are being constructed or being planned.

While tenant advocates were elated at the approval of the eviction protection legislation, they cannot claim complete victory yet because the legislation still needs approval from Mayor Gavin Newsom, who had expressed strong opposition to the legislation that would add more challenges to those currently faced by owners of house rentals.

According to spokesperson Joe Arellano, Mayor Newsom planned to veto the proposal, and his veto can be upheld if the final voting by the board gives him the majority. The latest voting, 7-4, needed one more vote so that the legislation would become veto-proof.

The board will again consider the legislation to get the veto-proof majority, but the swing vote – expected to come from Supervisor Bevan Duffy – may not be easy to get. According to Duffy, he does not plan to change his vote.

But Duffy, who has expressed his plan to run for mayor in 2011, is being pressured by renters and tenant advocates to change his vote. Sara Shortt, head of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, said that voting for the proposal should be an easy decision for any city lawmaker because 60 percent of the city is comprised by renters and there is a shortage of affordable housing.

According to Duffy, he would have voted yes if the legislation focused on evictions due to foreclosures. He argued that the legislation would have unintended consequences.

In addition, real estate owners and investors in San Francisco argued that the new legislation would diminish real estate rights and violate a pledge made by city officials to owners of house rentals when they enacted the rent control law in 1979.

There is a lot of evidence that prove this fact. For instance, Allstate Corp, an insurance company for homes, said that more homeowners are converting their house insurance policies to ones that would give provisions for a home lease. According to Mike Nelson, president of the Rental Homes Professionals Inc, the number of houses for rent has increased now more than ever. The foreclosure crisis is the main reason for it.

Jim Bass, a realtor in Frederick Md, the rising demand for services related to managing properties have caused them to stop providing to new clients anymore. One client has already been renting his house for $2,995 a month after he failed to sell it at a price of $790,000. The rent is not enough to pay for the home mortgage, but they have no choice now. Bass says that in two years, he hopes that the market would be able to recover so that homeowners, landlords and tenants as well would be able to get back what they lost from the recession.

A lot of experts in the industry say that renting out is not the best answer and solution for their financial problems. In key areas that were hit hard by foreclosure, prices of houses are not expected to increase anytime soon. Landlords would then have to pay for insurance, maintenance and other costs. Demand for apartments in other areas is also weak, and so rent also sees a decline. With this situation, a lot of landlords are not able to compensate for their expenses and home mortgages by just renting out their homes.

A lot of homeowners do not have choice. Those who have to relocate to another area have to do something with their homes. With more and more Americans finding themselves in new situations and new grounds, more and more rental houses come up, increasing the competition and giving a hard time on the rental industry.

A lot of apartment rentals in Modesto are being offered at only $400 per month, with the first months free for renters signing one-year lease agreements.

According to RealFacts, the apartment vacancy rate in Modesto over the past three months was 10 percent, among the highest rates in California. The average apartment rent in the 28 biggest apartment buildings in Modesto has gone down to $816, not including further discounts given such as free rent.

At the Meadowlakes Apartments, two-bedroom apartment units are being rented out at $695, a 19-percent drop from their usual rate of $830. Wanda Francek, manager of the 196-unit Meadowlakes, said she had to offer deep discounts because of the rising vacancy in the complex.

There is also another trend being observed in San Joaquin – tenants are now moving out of apartment rentals and moving into rental homes. Because of plenty of cheap foreclosures purchased and turned into rentals by investors, there are now a lot of houses for rent in the area.

Over the past 3 years, over 16,400 homes in Stanislaus County were foreclosed, including 7,800 foreclosures in the Modesto area. Many of these homes were sold by banks and other lenders to investors who converted them into rental homes.

In Stanislaus County, the number of rental units has risen by almost 6 percent from around 57,500 units in 2005 to over 60,800 rental units in 2008.

Ben Sweet, manager of Sweet Properties in Modesto, said that apartments and other multifamily properties have suffered because of the increased number of single-family homes that can be rented for the same amount.

Sweet said that he has reduced the rent for a two-bedroom house to $575 and a three-bedroom house to $950 and offers a 50-percent discount on the rent for the first month.

According to Sweet, rates for rental homes have gone down by five to 10 percent over the past year. A three-bedroom house with two bathrooms now rent for only around $1,100, down from around $1,250 during the boom.

Bigger houses are even tougher to rent out, according to rental managers. Houses for rent offered above $1,350 are not being rented. These big houses were easily rented out at $1,600 during the boom.