'I'm sending a clear message': Biden issues warning to 'corporate landlords' — threatens to take away valuable tax breaks if they raise rents more than 5%. But here's why it could backfire

The current president claims this proposal would go into effect if he is reelected for another term.

“I’m sending a clear message to corporate landlords: If you raise rents more than 5%, you should lose valuable tax breaks,” Biden posted on X. “Families deserve housing that’s affordable — it's part of the American dream.”

What else does Biden’s plan include?

Jim Parrott, nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and co-owner of Parrott Ryan Advisors, believes Biden’s plan for capping rents needs to be taken in context with his other housing initiatives.

“It would make little sense to make this move by itself,” says Parrott, according to The Washington Post. “Coming up with a relatively targeted bridge to help renters while new supply is coming on line makes a fair amount of sense.”

Biden is urging Congress to pass the Biden-Harris Housing Plan, which he says would build 2 million homes and provide $10,000 in mortgage relief for first-time buyers.

He’s also calling on federal agencies to assess surplus federal land that can be repurposed to construct tens of thousands of affordable homes.

Is this a viable solution?

Critics say Biden’s rent stabilization plan does nothing to address the root of America’s housing problem — and call for expanding housing supply as a long-term solution instead.

Sharon Wilson Géno, president of the National Multifamily Housing Council, believes Biden’s proposal is nothing more than a “farce” to get more votes ahead of the November election.