AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS: State should step in

If the federal government won’t do much, let Idaho do what it can. How about these for starters:

No depreciation allowed on single family homes as rentals and no expense deductions. The owner-occupied homes get no depreciation allowance or expense deductions. Fix the roof on your principal residence, no deduction on taxes, no capital expense recovery on sale, nothing. Even if the federal government won’t do this, Idaho can.

No homeowner exemption for a year in which any part of the home is rented out.

Allow a school impact fee on new construction and make the impact fee 50% less if the housing being built is guaranteed ‘affordable’ and restricted to owner/occupants and no resale for more than 3% annual profit for first five years of ownership. Perhaps even no school impact fee is sold to a teacher or nurse?

All R-2 and R-1 projects over 20 units should have HOA’s with required rules that have dual-dues, the “owner occupied fee” and the significantly higher “Non Owner-occupied’ fee with a six- or nine- month waiver if the house is for sale. Rentals are often not taken care of as well as owner-occupied and renters sometimes ignore rules or don’t know them.

HOWARD BURNS

Post Falls