No Rental Home Should Sit Vacant While Families Need Housing

Having grown up in a close-knit community, I have seen firsthand the devastating effects that a lack of available housing has on families and neighborhoods. Today, it is heartbreaking to watch hardworking people—including families with children, seniors, veterans, and individuals recovering from financial hardship—struggle to find housing while habitable rental homes remain listed but unoccupied for months at a time.

This petition focuses specifically on habitable residential rental properties that are actively being marketed for rent but remain vacant for extended periods while landlords or leasing agents wait for the "perfect" tenant. In many communities, rental homes remain available for six months or longer as applicants are denied based on increasingly restrictive criteria such as exceptionally high credit scores, income multiples, prior bankruptcies, or other screening requirements that often exclude otherwise qualified and responsible renters.

While property owners have every right to screen tenants and protect their investments, that right should be balanced against the broader public interest when housing shortages exist. When safe, habitable rental homes remain intentionally vacant for long stretches without legitimate cause, they reduce the number of homes actually available to the public and can contribute to an artificially constrained housing supply.

An artificially constrained rental market occurs when homes that could otherwise provide shelter remain empty despite active demand. Every rental left vacant while qualified applicants continue searching for housing places additional pressure on the remaining housing supply. As available rentals become scarcer, competition increases, families are displaced, and rental prices may rise. The result is a housing market that appears to have fewer available homes than actually exist.

The consequences extend beyond individual renters. Long-term vacant rental properties can weaken neighborhoods, reduce community vitality, invite neglect or vandalism, and contribute to the growing housing crisis. At the same time, families may be forced into overcrowded living arrangements, temporary housing, shelters, or homelessness—not because homes do not exist, but because habitable rentals remain unused while waiting for an ideal applicant.

This is not a call to punish responsible landlords or eliminate reasonable tenant screening. There are many legitimate reasons why a rental property may remain vacant, including substantial renovations, disaster recovery, legal proceedings, health and safety repairs, or other circumstances beyond an owner's control. Those situations should be recognized and protected.

Instead, this petition calls for balanced legislation that:

Defines a reasonable maximum period that a habitable rental property may remain actively listed and vacant without good cause.
Provides reasonable exemptions for renovations, repairs, probate, legal proceedings, natural disasters, military deployment, and other legitimate circumstances.
Encourages landlords and property managers to place homes back into service by renting them within a reasonable timeframe.
Establishes fair and proportionate vacancy fees only for unjustified long-term vacancies, with any collected funds dedicated to affordable housing initiatives, homelessness prevention, rental assistance, and neighborhood improvement.
Promotes housing policies that recognize homes are both private investments and essential community resources.
Across the United States, millions of housing units are classified as vacant by the U.S. Census Bureau. While many of those vacancies are seasonal, under repair, or otherwise unavailable, some communities have recognized that prolonged, unjustified residential vacancies can worsen housing shortages. Jurisdictions such as Vancouver and Washington, D.C., have implemented vacancy-related policies intended to encourage the productive use of residential housing rather than allowing homes to remain empty indefinitely.

Housing is more than an investment—it is the foundation of stable families and healthy communities. During a housing shortage, habitable rental homes should not remain vacant for months while families desperately search for a place to live. Reasonable policies can protect property rights while also encouraging the timely use of existing housing.

There should be no unnecessary rental vacancies where there are housing needs.

If you believe habitable rental homes should serve the people who need them and that our communities are stronger when housing is occupied rather than left vacant without good cause, please sign this petition. Together, we can advocate for balanced legislation that protects both responsible property owners and the families searching for a safe place to call home.