Sunday, May 15, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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When I was elected to serve on the Las Vegas City Council in 2019, my top priority was making Ward 1 an even better place to live. Over the past two years, I’ve been proud to work hand-in-hand with my neighbors to improve transportation, infrastructure, and especially housing. But, if Ward 1 and the rest of Las Vegas are to remain an attractive place to live and a competitive, thriving part of our state, we need to find ways to ensure more people have affordable, safe places to call home.
Those who know me are aware of my #RaiseTheRoof commitment to expand the stock of affordable housing in Las Vegas. Over the years, the cost to rent an apartment here has gone up 20%, leading to the city having one of the highest eviction rates in the nation.
As I’ve written previously, the current level of allowed density for buildings is untenable. An estimated 300,000 people are expected to move here in the coming years, and we are already well below where we need to be in terms of providing comfortable, affordable places to live for essential workers: teachers, police officers, and the health care professionals who make the Medical District a cornerstone of our community.
But we’re making progress. Thanks to partners, like Nevada HAND, we’re in the process of adding 480 units for low-income families and seniors, many of whom have been deeply affected by rising costs in rent. But we can’t afford to stop there. We should continue building housing like this, but also consider other obstacles that keep quality housing out of reach for so many of our neighbors.
We should ask what we can do so that short-term rentals for tourists don’t disrupt established neighborhoods and negatively affect the people who live here. We should take the steps we need to ensure that our unhoused residents are able to get the shelter and support they need to get back on their feet and rebuild their lives.
We need to consider how to make housing affordable beyond just density and volume. One possibility that’s already in use in Las Vegas and across the country is low-cost security deposit insurance.
Most rentals require a large, upfront cash deposit, often doubling the initial move-in cost. Instead, security deposit insurance eliminates that initial financial burden, allowing renters to pay a small monthly premium to protect their landlord against damages and unpaid rent, getting people housed more quickly.
Today, security deposit insurance is available in nearly 20,000 units in Las Vegas. We have an opportunity to enhance this measure in Nevada and lower the cost of moving into a new home during years of rising rent by ensuring that renters, landlords, policymakers and nonprofits are more aware of this option.
Las Vegas is my home. Ward 1 is my community. Right in the heart of Vegas is where my husband and I decided to raise our two children. But here, we’ve failed to address our housing challenges for too long, and it’s time for us as a community to act.
Brian Knudsen is a member of the Las Vegas City Council for Ward 1 and is a member of the National League of Cities’ Large Cities Council and the 2022 Community and Economic Development Federal Advocacy Committee.
