Idaho House Republicans easily passed a bill Monday that would ban local governments from regulating rental property fees.
Right now, Boise is the only city in Idaho that caps rental application fees.
The proposal from Rep. Joe Palmer (R-Meridian) would do away with that, plus any other fee-related restrictions.
“There are some bad players. We know that,” Palmer said. “But since when do we no longer trust our consumers or our businesses?”
He said it’s consistent with the state’s law banning rent control.
But housing advocates, Democrats and a handful of Republicans disagree. They said renters should be protected from unscrupulous landlords charging dozens of people application fees for the handful of vacant apartments they might have available.
Rep. Scott Syme (R-Caldwell) said it should be a local control issue.
“Every time I turn around, I seem to hear another instance of where we at the state know better than those people that are down in those local communities,” Syme said.
State senators will consider the bill next.
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