The Issues: Housing

The opportunity for each individual citizen to own his or her own home is a fundamental premise of the American economic system. To this end, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina advocates a free and unregulated housing market. We call for the elimination of all laws which dictate to homeowners how they will build, inhabit, or otherwise use their property, and of all regulations which increase the cost of housing.

On the Issues:

I believe that our housing needs can be met in a competitive, free-enterprise environment, unhampered by arbitrary, counter-productive government regulations. To this end, I support legislation to eliminate costly, unreasonable, and non-safety related governmental regulation of land use and/or residential construction.
When lenders make risky loans to those who cannot afford them, they are taking a risk. The shareholders of that company stand to make a profit; they also stand to take a loss. It is not the role of the federal government to bail out a private enterprise; recent bail outs of Countrywide and Bear Stearns are totally inappropriate. In the rare circumstance where such a bail out is absolutely necessary to the nation's well-being, the taxpayers assume ownership of the organization, replace the management team, and privatize it as quickly as possible. Any 'profit' made from the sale of the organization to the private sector investors should be returned to the public coffers. Bail outs of these companies do not help those struggling to make home payments; rather it helps the shareholders of the lenders.
The bursting of the housing bubble is devastating for many homeowners. They may have been been approved for and accepted home loans they could not afford and now face losing their homes. However, this is a natural process in the free-market; the prices of homes were inflated due to government manipulation of interest rates and overly-aggressive lenders. This correction will make homes more affordable for current and future homebuyers.
Provision of an adequate supply of rental housing is essential to meet the total housing needs of our communities. I believe that the provision of such rental housing can and will be supplied under a system of free, competitive enterprise. Rent controls are counter-productive and foster deterioration of existing rental units. Therefore, I oppose any imposition of rent controls on rental property owners.
Landlords who fail to maintain their property in a habitable condition, discriminate against tenants, or charge excessive amounts should be punished in the free-market rather than by government enforcement. These practices will result in fewer or no tenants or drive down profit. They will be forced to amend their practices or pay the economic price.
I oppose the concept of federally-funded urban renewal or public housing as this is not an activity permitted within the US Constitution.
Like the Republican Liberty Caucus and many others, I support the immediate abolishment of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is not a rightful function of the federal government according to our constitution.
I oppose using a taxpayer's money to subsidize another's choice of where to build or maintain housing. As an example, if a home-owner obtains cheap land by building next to the Interstate, they've made their choice and benefited from their decision economically; it is not then the responsiblity of others to fund a noise-reduction wall to improve the homeowners surroundings.

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