HUD Boss Blasts Red Tape

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner says government red tape, not the free market, is the main reason millions of Americans can’t afford a home.

Story Snapshot

HUD Secretary Scott Turner blames “unnecessary government policies” for rising costs to build, buy, and rent homes.
The Trump administration has rolled back regulations it says add thousands of dollars to new home prices.
Tenant advocacy groups and housing researchers counter that protections like rent control help low-income renters stay housed.
Economic studies show rent control can lower costs for current tenants but shrink the overall housing supply over time.

Turner Points the Finger at Regulation

Secretary Turner has spent much of 2026 arguing that government rules, not greedy builders or landlords, are the real barrier to homeownership. A September Department of Housing and Urban Development release states plainly that “unnecessary government policies have contributed to the skyrocketing cost of building, buying, and renting a home.” Turner frames this as a simple fix: cut the rules, and prices come down.

This message fits a pattern Turner has repeated since taking office. He has called outdated zoning codes, permitting delays, and financing requirements the hidden taxes on every new home built in America. His department says it is working to repeal and replace guidance that slows construction without protecting anyone, while still following legal housing commitments already on the books.

What the Data Actually Shows About Rent Rules

Independent research backs part of Turner’s case, but not all of it. The Urban Institute found that rent control does increase the number of units affordable to extremely low-income households. It also found rent control reduces the total number of units in a city. Both things can be true at once, which is why the debate never fully resolves in either direction.

The St. Louis Federal Reserve reached a similar split conclusion. Its researchers wrote that rent-control policies can “restrict rents at more affordable rates” for people already in their homes. But the same policies, the bank noted, can also shrink the overall rental stock and reduce how well landlords maintain their buildings over time.

Tenants See a Different Kind of Crisis

Groups representing renters push back hard against the idea that regulation is the villain. The National Low Income Housing Coalition argues tenant protections are “critical to preventing evictions and keeping renters stably housed.” Advocacy organizations like Public Counsel say their work preserves affordable housing and prevents displacement, framing rules not as red tape but as a safety net for families with nowhere else to go.

Brookings offered perhaps the clearest middle ground. Its research found that rent control “appears to help current tenants in the short run” but “in the long run it decreases affordability, fuels gentrification, and creates negative spillovers on the surrounding neighborhood.” That finding undercuts both the simplest pro-regulation and pro-deregulation arguments at the same time.

Tenants organized for relief during this affordability crisis, and won—today, the Rent Guidelines Board’s rent freeze for one-and two-year leases is now in effect.

Great news for 1 million+ rent-stabilized tenants.https://t.co/OG2l2S95JJ

— Office of the Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams (@nycpa) October 1, 2026

A Fight Bigger Than One Agency

One academic review summed up the stalemate bluntly: the weight of evidence leans against rent regulation, but that conclusion “is by no means universal.” That uncertainty is exactly why housing policy keeps dividing Washington and city halls alike, from New York’s Rent Guidelines Board fights to HUD’s push to cut federal rules nationwide.

For millions of Americans watching home prices and rents climb regardless of which side wins the argument, the frustration cuts across party lines. Renters want protection from sudden rent hikes. Buyers want builders able to put up homes without years of delay. Both camps increasingly suspect that whichever policy wins, it’s often driven more by politics than by what actually helps working families get ahead.