Tenant advocates are asking the White House for help in curbing what they call “rent inflation.” A coalition of tenant unions, community organizations, and legal groups is asking the Biden administration to declare a state of emergency and investigate ways to regulate rents. As reported by the Washington Post, these groups want the government to address rent growth with the same urgency as it has with high gas prices. (1)Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review. The coalition sent a proposal that would involve six government agencies for an “all-out government intervention” on rent inflation. The Consumer Price Index shows that overall annual inflation hit 9.1% in June, which is a 40-year high. That includes food and energy, which helped drive that number to a record high, along with housing costs.According to data firm Yardi Matrix, the year-over-year rate of inflation for multi-family rents was 12.6% in July. For single-family detached homes, CoreLogic reports that the annual rate was 12.8% in June. And some hot rental markets have seen much higher rates of rent growth, such as Miami with a June year-over-year reading of 35.5% for single-family homes. On economist told the Post that it’s important that policymakers address the issue of high prices for necessities. He says: “At this point, we’re talking about food, gasoline, and housing.”Call for Immediate ActionJust recently, the Biden administration addressed the high price of gas with a release of oil from the national reserve. Congress was also asked to consider a gas tax holiday, but that hasn’t materialized. The coalition says the high price for housing is also an economic crisis and needs the same kind of attention.It wrote in a memo: “We urge the President to act immediately to regulate rents, as part of the Administration’s efforts to curb inflation, and as a critical foundation for long term protections to correct the imbalance of power between tenants and their landlords.”The appeal is part of an effort called “Homes Guarantee” which has a website. You’ll find a link in the show notes. The main message is: “Everyone living in the United States should have safe, accessible, sustainable, and permanently affordable housing: A Homes Guarantee.” It says that “currently, a team of 75 directly impacted tenant leaders representing over 25 organizations are building our federal campaign with a focus on executive and agency actions to regulate rents and address the rent inflation crisis.”Potential Rent RegulationsIn addition to the emergency declaration, the coalition wants President Biden to convene a cabinet-level interagency task force to identify possible rent regulations. The document mentions enforceable affordability, quality housing standards, and legal representation for tenants facing eviction. The agencies it calls upon to help impose these regulations include the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, HUD, the Securities and Exchange Commission, The Department of the Treasury, and The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.High Rents Due to Housing ShortageAlthough there are some landlords who impose unreasonable rent increases, it’s not just greedy landlords who are at fault. As the Post reports, one of the big reasons for the high cost of housing is the housing shortage. The U.S. needs as many as five million more residential units to meet demand.The White House has introduced a “Housing Supply Action Plan” which would close the gap in another five years. But that doesn’t help tenants right now. The Federal Reserve is the one that is tasked with bringing down inflation, and it’s doing that with incremental interest rate hikes which don’t target the housing market specifically. The Value of a Good TenantMany of the mom and pop investors we work with at RealWealth know the value of a good tenant and the results of fair rent levels. Although rent increases