Involving city leaders in housing affordability solutions

Today, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, joined Rhino Chairman Ankur Jain in authoring a piece published by CNN. The article calls on city and state leaders across the country to follow the proven model for legislative action that Rhino has worked to drive in Cincinnati, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia.

This collaboration remains essential as renters around the country continue to search for financial relief. While the federal stimulus package passed in April provided short-lived assistance for families in the form of $1,200 checks delivered to Americans making less than $75,000 a year, those funds have been long depleted for households in need. As Americans fall further into financial uncertainty, the federal government has inexcusably failed to put partisan differences aside and mobilize in delivering additional support.

In late 2019, Rhino published the Renter Choice and Flexibility Plan as a call to action for city and state policymakers to unlock the $45 billion sitting idle in cash security deposits nationwide. With more Americans renting than ever before and costs of living continuing to rise, Rhino’s call to action has been received with great enthusiasm in cities and states across the country in 2020.

Rhino was proud to partner with forward-thinking leaders from the city governments of Cincinnati, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia respectively to bring Renter’s Choice legislation to renters, allowing them to opt in to low-cost insurance programs like Rhino’s that made $100 million and $755 million available in each city.

These legislative movements have demonstrated how the simple act of providing the choice to use affordable alternatives to burdensome cash security deposits — like Rhino’s deposit insurance — can have a profound impact in bringing down the upfront costs of renting. The movement launched by Rhino in partnership with city and state policymakers not only offers the potential for a $45 billion national stimulus; injecting money currently sitting in cash deposits back into economies — but also highlights the universal application of a financial tool that is already being used by millions of renters and property owners across the country.

With several additional large cities poised to pass Renter’s Choice bills before the end of the year, this movement continues to be accepted as a legitimate solution providing financial relief for renters. Rhino is committed to continuing the work of fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors to deliver choice and optionality to renters and property owners in 2021 and beyond.

Larenz Brown

Larenz Brown is a copywriter at Rhino who wants to tell stories that empower people. He once engaged in a 365-day staredown with a security deposit and emerged victorious.