Washington DC - Advocate Conference

Our Vice President, Peter, recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he represented Region VIII as Regional Vice President and Board Member of the National Apartment Association (NAA), as well as a Board Member and Executive Committee Member of the Utah Rental Housing Association (RHA). He attended the NAA Advocate Conference, an annual event where our industry unites to engage in the legislative process, ensuring our voices are heard and our elected officials understand the challenges we face.

Peter led the Utah delegation, meeting with the offices of Senators Lee and Curtis, and Representatives Moore and Owens. Key discussions focused on critical legislation, including extending and permanently enacting the 2017 Trump tax cuts, set to expire soon, and addressing the CARES Act’s outdated 30-day notice requirement for landlords before initiating evictions. This federal mandate, introduced as a temporary 120-day measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, remains in place five years later. We advocated for returning eviction regulations to the states, where fair and established processes already exist.

Our efforts on Capitol Hill paid off. Several representatives’ offices committed to likely co-sponsoring the bill, Respect State Housing Laws Act - (HR 1078/S. 470) and we learned that afterwards that some Democratic representatives also pledged support, boosting the legislation’s bipartisan momentum and chances of passage.

Beyond advocacy, Peter contributed to high-level strategic planning with the NAA Board of Directors and served on the Governance Committee. As Regional Vice President for Region VIII, Peter also chaired meetings with representatives from Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. These sessions covered NAA updates, insights from our Lobby Day visits, committee reports, and a robust discussion of local challenges facing our members.

The Advocate Conference proved highly successful, with significant progress made on both legislative and organisational fronts.