Sometimes, libertarians have a point

  The New York Times today published a story on how foreclosures in New England are disproportionately hitting old triple-deckers. “Triple-deckers” are squat three-story buildings common to the region (pictured below). Most of them are condominiums these days, but many are owned by the resident of one of the units, who rents out the other two, or by absentee landlords. 

Unfortunately, the author didn't limit herself to simply stating that the foreclosures have disproportionately hit triple-deckers. Instead, she decided to write a fact-free piece that implies, without any hard evidence, that the housing collapse is threatening to destroy the triple-decker, and with it, tear apart the urban fabric of New England. What percentage of triple-deckers have are foreclosed? We don't know.  What percentage of foreclosed triple-deckers are vacant?  We don't know.  We do hear stories about abandoned lots in New Bedford ... but New Bedford has been declining for decades. Has the recent housing bubble really worsened things? We have no idea.  It is a remarkably badly-written article. 

But there is one thing mentioned which, if true, is completely insane: 

Modern zoning laws, Ms. Friedman said, would never allow three units on such small lots. “If we have four three-deckers on 12,000 square feet and could only get two on that amount of land now,” Ms. Friedman said, “we are losing six units. So it’s very important to us to sustain them.”

Can that be serious? Boston zoning laws require less density than currently exists? That is flat-out crazy. I am not opposed to all zoning laws, of course. I would hate to have somebody block out my ability to see the sun, for example. But the Boston law is just egregious. Of course, it’s only a problem if there is in fact demand for housing in the parts of Boston where buildings are being abandoned ... so I doubt the premise. Ms. Friedman is probably worried about the housing for other reasons. 

That said, the general point holds. Zoning is very costly in this country. I do not approve. 

Comments

[Peter]

I grew up in a city (Waterbury, CT) that is absolutely full of triple-deckers, though I've never lived in one. There never seemed to be much of a middle ground when it came to their condition - they were either beautifully maintained, or falling apart. Whether or not the owner occupied a unit was a major reason for this split, although neighborhood quality also played a part.