The legislation is scheduled to be approved by the Board of Supervisors by next week. It states that apartment developers who have properties benefitting from tax breaks and zoning changes will be required to rent out part of their apartment buildings at affordable rates. In the old ordinance, all apartment developers and owners, regardless of whether they benefit or not from government efforts are given the choice of either renting part of their properties at affordable charges or paying a certain amount of fee.

The old ordinance was deemed in violation of state laws by an appellate court. According to the court, the ordinance is against legislation aimed at protecting the rights of apartment owners and developers of rental property listings to establish rental rates for their own properties. The court further added that only apartment projects that get public benefits can be required to follow the ordinance.

The appellate court's ruling was upheld statewide, but this has not stopped jurisdictions from trying to find a way to get apartment developers to provide affordable housing rates to city tenants without violating the statewide rule. The latest proposal is reportedly part of local officials' efforts to get apartment owners to do their share in providing affordable housing units to city dwellers.

According to the proponents of the new legislation, the proposal will affect but a few projects since majority of apartments benefit from public aid, either through tax exempted bonds and tax credits or through zoning changes. Law experts have stated that the new rule can withstand any legal challenge and is likely to be upheld in most areas of San Francisco.

They further added that the rule will hold at any court if it can demonstrate that rental property listings developments have some adverse effects on the housing market of a particular community. They also stated that the generic nature of the proposal will make it hard for challengers to win their case.

The Census Bureau reported that households living in properties that they own are at 66.9% during the third quarter of 2010. The rate remained unchanged when compared with the 2010 second quarter. The last time that home ownership rate was at a lower level than its current status was back in 1999 when 66.7% of households all around the country own residential properties.

Historically, 64% of households occupy houses that they own. The figure started rising in 1995 following government campaigns aimed at encouraging people to own residences. Several legislators have reportedly pushed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to buy more loans designed for low income families, while others encouraged borrowers with weaker credit ratings to go for subprime loans.

Ownership of residential properties reached its highest level in 2004 at 69%, but started declining in 2006 and continued to decline as the housing market crisis hit. Today, rental property is considered much more preferable than home buying by most Americans, market analysts have reported.

The decline in home ownership is expected to continue until next year due to huge supplies of foreclosures and strict lending rules. Analysts are predicting that ownership of homes will return to the level recorded before 1995 when fewer Americans value residential property investments. According to some housing market experts, the government is partly to blame for the crisis in the residential property industry.

They argued that past administrations have allowed borrowers with low credit ratings to get loans, which eventually led to defaults. The number of houses that are empty or vacant has risen since 2006, analysts have reported. Four years ago, the number is estimated to be at 16 million. By the end of 2008, the number is estimated at 19 million. Rental property vacancy is around 10.3%, while primary home vacancy is at 2.5%.

A big percentage of Gen Y members are expected to come into the rental market soon and landlords and owners of rental housing are reportedly preparing for this occurrence and tailoring their services to this particular generation. However, Kern has cautioned that it will be wrong to ignore other age groups as majority of Gen Y are not even employed yet. He added that over 30% of this population still relies on their parents for financial help and most are still living at home with their families.

The home for rental market's anticipation of younger renters was largely influenced by the U.S. Census Bureau's report that around 57 million Gen Y members will reach the prime rental age of 22 from 2008 to 2020. This has led landlords and multifamily dwelling owners to prepare for younger renters.

However, Kern and other rental housing market analysts have stated that it will be ill advised for rental home owners and builders to start playing music in apartment lobbies aimed exclusively at young people, particularly if these sounds have the potential to annoy other age group renters. They added that using paint colors in apartments and lease centers particularly designed to attract young people might turn other potential renters off.

Kern has advised rental housing developers and landlords to focus on preferences common to all age groups. Security and comfort, he added, should be the primary focus of rental housing. He also stated that the best way to attract all types of renters is to provide trustworthy information that will allow them to make intelligent decisions and will promote a good relationship between renters and multifamily owners. This, Kern has asserted, will also lead to long-term retention of home for rental dwellers.

According to 2009 figures, 51.5% of renters are spending at least 30% or their income on rental costs. Under the government's parameters, housing is considered unaffordable if households are spending 30% or higher on housing expenses including utilities and rental fees. The 2009 percentage is slightly higher than 2008 when around 50% of renters are spending that much on housing expenses.

The increase in the percentage of renters living in unaffordable units is largely attributed to the decline in the average household income. Based on 2009 figures, median income for households declined by 2.9%, mainly because unemployment jumped to 10.2% for the year. In addition, housing expenses rose by 3% from $818 in 2008 to $842 in 2009. Most analysts believe that the affordability of housing will continue to become a problem as long as incomes are declining and job loss is escalating.

Housing analysts have also stated that the lack of cheap houses for rent also reflects increased demand as foreclosure problems continue to discourage families and individuals from purchasing homes. They further added that, with the current market condition, most Americans feel that renting is more practical and beneficial than owning a residence.

One good thing that the 2009 housing market data revealed is that among people who actually own homes, only 37.6% are spending at least 30% on housing expenses, including taxes, utilities, insurance and mortgage loan payments. This can be considered good news since the figure is almost the same as the percentage recorded in 2008, which means that expenses for homeowners had remained steady since rising steadily beginning in 2002.

Despite difficulties in finding cheap houses for rent, the number of people renting dwellings has risen by almost one million, while the number of people who own houses declined by as much as half a million. Rental housing data for 2010 is expected to show almost similar trends.

During a Property Maintenance Appeals Board meeting held at the Ames City Hall, proposed revisions to Municipal Code Chapter 13 were on top of the agenda. According to the board, they will draft recommendations during a two-week workshop discussion. The discussions will be available to all, but input from landlords and residents will not be entertained until a meeting between the board and the Ames City Council has taken place.

In the midst of all the discussions, some owners of rental housing have stated that they do not see the need for the changes as their properties have passed inspections easily for years now. Code requirements, according to the owners, have forced some of them to spend over $5,000 on electrical, heating and plumbing repairs just to bring the houses for rent up to code.

They argued that they upgraded their rental properties just the way the city asked them to do and they do not relish the idea of doing so again just after four years. Landlords have asserted that the upgrades were expensive four years ago and the latest changes will likely require double the amount they shelled out during earlier upgrades.

Meanwhile, some owners of real estate rental homes who are trying to sell their properties have complained that potential buyers have backed out due to the repairs and upgrades that the city is planning to implement. They also lament the fact that the city is asking for improvements that are sometimes not even needed with areas of properties already in good working condition.

Landlords have stated that there are at least 20 proposed changes to the current code, with some just geared toward aesthetics. They stated that, as owners of houses for rent, they understand the need for better looking properties, but they are worried about the costs these improvements will entail.

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.