I am the original writer of the standardized housing policy framework in South Carolina that has been used as a primary political reference point. This framework has inspired additional petitions that may be too extreme to gain legislative approval. 

To keep it short, the goal of this petition is to create a legally acknowledged standard for rental pricing for apartments, studios, and homes, primarily for the state of South Carolina. The standard takes into account the median income of a full-time employee. As income fluctuates from city to city this will be determined by a set district.  It is also decided that the median income should be able to support the earner and a dependent, if that is a partner, spouse, child, or loved one. This had helped determine a minimal space when calculating the standard. The standard is a value per square foot. This standard can now be used to determine the value of a rental property against its given size. Once the rental has been evaluated, it will give future and current tenants a value to fight back against rental pricing. The rental property will still be allowed to set the rent, but now the value that exceeds the value set by the standard will be subject to an additional tax. This tax will not apply to the gross income but only the evaluation that exceeds the given standard. As it is paid against the evaluation, the goal is to have the rental property taxed regardless of active tenants or gross income. The idea is to make sure the evaluation does not just cover rent, but all expenses that can not be avoided, including amenities and non-negotiable expenses. For example, a property cannot claim $950 in rent, but the total cost of $1200 because of pool, gym, trash, or other services in an attempt to negate the proposal. 

Below this point, I am attaching clearer reasoning and more detailed information. I hope that, to this point, we have your support and signature to help us proceed forward to one day living more comfortably in a place we can call our home.

As housing prices continue to rise, government revenue gross income tax and property tax. While tax incentives exist for repairs and renovations there is currently no upper limit defining what constitute excessive housing costs. 

Housing prices are based on a supply and demand model, but the market makes it unobtainable for everyday Americans to buy a home, and rent is only affordable to roughly the top 20% of income earners. I seen how people are priced out of their apartments under the excuse of supply and demand but realistically it is investment companies that will buy low-cost apartments, make minor changes, drastically raise rates, and flip them for a profit. The median income has been roughly in the forty thousands for nearly a decade, but rent, along with other cost-of-living expenses, has doubled in this time. This is based off the US census information when using 3rd party info, values can be anywhere from five to 10 thousand higher than the census info.

Maybe who are full-time employees are paid a wage that is not affordable to live off within 30 minutes to an hour of their jobs. Many full-time employees require dual income to still live paycheck to paycheck in most areas. As this is based on the median income of South Carolina mens $51,649 and womens $46,999. Typical values are not shared as individual full-time but rather household income, meaning multiple incomes show to be $66,818. This value expects South Carolinians to not be a single-income household, while just shy of 40% of citizens are single or unmarried. These individuals are neglected and forced into a living situation that may not be the best circumstances. 

The goal is not to create a cap. By making a cap, it makes it more difficult to pass the bill and gives related businesses a better tactic to fight back. The goal should be to create an adjustable number to reference. As this reference number is exceeded, all gross earnings over will be subjected to an additional tax set on a bracket system of the percentage that exceeds the reference standard. 

The goal is to create a value per square foot. Deciding that a full-time income should be able to support an individual and a dependent, it is recommended to have 900sqft to support, which can reflect on the smaller end of a 2-bedroom apartment. Using the lower value of $46,999 or $47,000, this will be the median income used. Now, the budgeting percentage. Typical percentage should be between 25-33%. 25% is preferable, but going to use 29%. That is a monthly value of $1,135.83 at 900sqft. Since all apartments are not equal, it is $1.262 per square foot. That means apartments that are 600sqft are worth $757.22, or 1200sqft  at $1,514.44. 

Realistically, this is not the most favorable method, but for rental properties below 1,000sqft are greatly affected, and over 60% of properties based on Zillow mapping are affected, showing that some of these properties are as high as $400 over what this standard creates. 

As the numbers are difficult to obtain, the goal is to have a standard based on a 25/75 split rather than the median income of a 50/50 split, so even more South Carolinians are considered. Plus, at an estimated where the lowest is roughly $15,000 gross income based on minimum wage. If it were as simple as splitting the difference, it would be something like $31,000. This would be $0.832 per sqft or a 900sqft apartment of $750 in rent. Realistically, no one is actually working a full-time position at minimum wage, and the split would likely be in the high 30K to low 40K. 

Another aspect is that this will be good for the businesses of the state. A typical rejection or cause for employees quitting is the inability to keep up with the cost of living because of the local housing market. This will allow small and local businesses to have breathing room to be able to afford their employees. Along with helping bring in larger businesses that will bring jobs to the state.

For the tax system, this will remain open for the state to decide. The general idea is to have multiple sections, such as individual renter, multiproperty, complex rentals, along with penalties for in vs. out of state property management or ownership. As many parent companies are not from South Carolina, they typically end up bleeding money out of the state. The goal is to leave room for comfort for South Carolina owned and operated business while finding ways to retain money to the state. 

Concerns:

Some landlords make their rates match BAH. Now that its been many years since the introduction of BAH many believe its sole purpose is to cover rent or the mortgage. As taught to me while in the military, BAH is meant to cover the housing, utilities, insurance, and transport to and from off-base living. As many landlords and property managment does not understand how it is budgeted, rates tend to be increased to match the totality of BAH. The actual nature of the situation is that with BAH is the majority of the military earn less than the median income. Even applying these standards to military dense communities will help lower rates.