D.C. Attorney General Sues 14 Of The City’s Biggest Landlords For Colluding To Inflate Rental Prices

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be awesome if our AG stopped filing frivolous lawsuits and maybe did something about crime.

I find the timing of this curious, what with the little carjacker getting killed and the increasing media coverage about juvenile crime and all. It has a “look over here, look over here” distraction feel about it.

You think the AG made the decision to file the lawsuit and put the whole thing together and actually did file it, all between Saturday night and Wednesday?

No, they didn’t just throw this together this weekend, but I don’t think it was pure coincidence that they chose this week to file it and make a splashy press announcement.

The contrast is the tell. Where’s the press conference to announce a new juvenile crime fighting initiative?

There is none. His “plan” is to keep them on the streets and let the perps become the victims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be awesome if our AG stopped filing frivolous lawsuits and maybe did something about crime.

I find the timing of this curious, what with the little carjacker getting killed and the increasing media coverage about juvenile crime and all. It has a “look over here, look over here” distraction feel about it.

Please remove your tinfoil hat.

DC's OAG is a pretty large office with many divisions, all doing work at the same time. Some people are addressing crime, some are addressing public corruption, some are addressing housing, some are addressing consumer protection issues. It's not like Schlwab is sitting there saying "WE NEED A WIN! GET ME A BIG LAWSUIT TO FILE!"

Lol, tell me you didn’t work at OAG under Karl Racine without telling me…

[Anonymous]

He is filing suit on behalf of the criminals/voucher holders because their aren't enough affordable units for them. If he wins, he will use the money/affordable units for more voucher tenants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cool. Now go after the violent criminals that are terrorizing our city.

The AG is worried the criminals will be priced out of the area.

Ah, now we know who is behind all the threads about crime.

[Anonymous]

What do you expect when Joe Biden and Dems mandated govt enforced rent moratoriums while simultaneously skyrocketing inflation? Rents have to go up because everything costs a f ton more to fix thanks to joe Biden inflation. Renters shouldn’t be immune to the consequences of inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for positing. This story will be invisible on housing twitter just like the original story about RealPage was. Anyone who claims to be an affordable housing advocate and doesn’t applaud the AG’s effort isn’t interested in affordable housing so much as they are in making sure landlords make giant profits.

Fact check: false.

-person on housing Twitter

I see it around a little now but the posts aren’t getting nearly as much engagement as the posts about stupid postings on next door do. YIMBYs do realize that price fixing and collusion prevent prices from going down, right? Probably even more than posts on next door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for positing. This story will be invisible on housing twitter just like the original story about RealPage was. Anyone who claims to be an affordable housing advocate and doesn’t applaud the AG’s effort isn’t interested in affordable housing so much as they are in making sure landlords make giant profits.

Name one housing advocate who's denounced this lawsuit. If they're not commenting on it, it's because breaking up a price fixing scheme doesn't solve the underlying problems that they're focused on. Even if the DCAG proves that there was a conspiracy among landlords - it's plausible - there will still be a housing crisis, just as there will still be NIMBYs trying to prevent anyone from doing anything about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for positing. This story will be invisible on housing twitter just like the original story about RealPage was. Anyone who claims to be an affordable housing advocate and doesn’t applaud the AG’s effort isn’t interested in affordable housing so much as they are in making sure landlords make giant profits.

Name one housing advocate who's denounced this lawsuit. If they're not commenting on it, it's because breaking up a price fixing scheme doesn't solve the underlying problems that they're focused on. Even if the DCAG proves that there was a conspiracy among landlords - it's plausible - there will still be a housing crisis, just as there will still be NIMBYs trying to prevent anyone from doing anything about it.

Have you even read the complaint? The companies were able to increase rents even as vacancies increased. That really calls into question your just build more housing slogan. Turns out building more housing won’t actually drive down pricing if landlords are colluding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for positing. This story will be invisible on housing twitter just like the original story about RealPage was. Anyone who claims to be an affordable housing advocate and doesn’t applaud the AG’s effort isn’t interested in affordable housing so much as they are in making sure landlords make giant profits.

Name one housing advocate who's denounced this lawsuit. If they're not commenting on it, it's because breaking up a price fixing scheme doesn't solve the underlying problems that they're focused on. Even if the DCAG proves that there was a conspiracy among landlords - it's plausible - there will still be a housing crisis, just as there will still be NIMBYs trying to prevent anyone from doing anything about it.

Have you even read the complaint? The companies were able to increase rents even as vacancies increased. That really calls into question your just build more housing slogan. Turns out building more housing won’t actually drive down pricing if landlords are colluding.

Then the solution is to stop the cartel, not to throw up our hands and say “it’s hopeless because landlords will always break the law.” We know from comparing housing production rates among different cities that whatever cartel activity is going on, it’s not enough to prevent rent prices from plateauing in places that are building enough. Besides, building more housing isn’t just about lowering prices. It’s also about making homes for people who need them, closer to urban cores and job centers. Housing advocates see NIMBY reliance on this lawsuit for what it is: an excuse to justify the status quo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for positing. This story will be invisible on housing twitter just like the original story about RealPage was. Anyone who claims to be an affordable housing advocate and doesn’t applaud the AG’s effort isn’t interested in affordable housing so much as they are in making sure landlords make giant profits.

Name one housing advocate who's denounced this lawsuit. If they're not commenting on it, it's because breaking up a price fixing scheme doesn't solve the underlying problems that they're focused on. Even if the DCAG proves that there was a conspiracy among landlords - it's plausible - there will still be a housing crisis, just as there will still be NIMBYs trying to prevent anyone from doing anything about it.

Have you even read the complaint? The companies were able to increase rents even as vacancies increased. That really calls into question your just build more housing slogan. Turns out building more housing won’t actually drive down pricing if landlords are colluding.

Then the solution is to stop the cartel, not to throw up our hands and say “it’s hopeless because landlords will always break the law.” We know from comparing housing production rates among different cities that whatever cartel activity is going on, it’s not enough to prevent rent prices from plateauing in places that are building enough. Besides, building more housing isn’t just about lowering prices. It’s also about making homes for people who need them, closer to urban cores and job centers. Housing advocates see NIMBY reliance on this lawsuit for what it is: an excuse to justify the status quo.

And yet YINBYs mobilize more effectively against next door messages than the cartel price fixing. How much have next door messages made rents go up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be awesome if our AG stopped filing frivolous lawsuits and maybe did something about crime.

There’s nothing frivolous about this.

Just like there was nothing frivolous about Karl Racine constantly suing Facebook and Google? Someone should sue Brian Schwalb for wasting taxpayer dollars on this crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cool. Now go after the violent criminals that are terrorizing our city.

Yes, definitely can't address one problem unless we have already addressed every other problem first.

It’s a fair point because the AG doesn’t not seem actually capable of multitasking.

He’s not prosecuting juvenile offenders, which directly led to a 13 year old carjacker getting shot.

But here is doing DOJs job for headlines.

[Anonymous]

This lawsuit is just inane. We need to rethink the entire AG office. They waste so much time and energy on stupid shit. Focus on f**king crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for positing. This story will be invisible on housing twitter just like the original story about RealPage was. Anyone who claims to be an affordable housing advocate and doesn’t applaud the AG’s effort isn’t interested in affordable housing so much as they are in making sure landlords make giant profits.

Fact check: false.

-person on housing Twitter

Serious question: where has housing twitter/urbanist twitter/local DC twitter gone? Is everyone on IG now?

They’re still there, just not getting engagement because people get tired of the broken record and go on to live their life. Particularly when they realize that their whole shtick turns about to be about slowing the rate of increase of housing prices over decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for positing. This story will be invisible on housing twitter just like the original story about RealPage was. Anyone who claims to be an affordable housing advocate and doesn’t applaud the AG’s effort isn’t interested in affordable housing so much as they are in making sure landlords make giant profits.

Name one housing advocate who's denounced this lawsuit. If they're not commenting on it, it's because breaking up a price fixing scheme doesn't solve the underlying problems that they're focused on. Even if the DCAG proves that there was a conspiracy among landlords - it's plausible - there will still be a housing crisis, just as there will still be NIMBYs trying to prevent anyone from doing anything about it.

Have you even read the complaint? The companies were able to increase rents even as vacancies increased. That really calls into question your just build more housing slogan. Turns out building more housing won’t actually drive down pricing if landlords are colluding.

Then the solution is to stop the cartel, not to throw up our hands and say “it’s hopeless because landlords will always break the law.” We know from comparing housing production rates among different cities that whatever cartel activity is going on, it’s not enough to prevent rent prices from plateauing in places that are building enough. Besides, building more housing isn’t just about lowering prices. It’s also about making homes for people who need them, closer to urban cores and job centers. Housing advocates see NIMBY reliance on this lawsuit for what it is: an excuse to justify the status quo.

And yet YINBYs mobilize more effectively against next door messages than the cartel price fixing. How much have next door messages made rents go up?

YIMBYs mobilize for changing policy. Price fixing is already illegal, so it’s a law enforcement matter. There’s nothing to “mobilize” for, except for the same policy problems that will be there even if cartel behavior is found and stopped. Problems like underfunded affordable housing programs, restrictive zoning laws, excessive car dependence… none of which NIMBYs want to do anything about.