Bill Description: House Bill 169 would impose new regulations on property owners who have tenants.

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NOTE: House Bill 169 is one of several bills introduced this session to limit the scope of voluntary contracts between property owners and renters or prospective renters. 

Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?

House Bill 164 would amend Section 55-307, Idaho Code, which currently requires property owners to give tenants a notice of at least 30 days before they increase the rental amount due or choose not to renew a lease. 

This bill would restructure the 30-day notice of rent increase to apply to "any increase in the amount of rent charged at least thirty (30) days before such nonrenewal of the lease; or such increase in the amount of rent charged is intended to take effect."

It would also increase the required notice period for nonrenewals to 60 days, saying, "the landlord shall provide the tenant written notice … of an intention to not renew a lease at least sixty (60) days before the termination of any lease entered into on or after July 1, 2023."

The expiration of a lease should automatically terminate contractual obligations unless both parties voluntarily enter into another lease or a different arrangement, such as a month-to-month rental agreement.

The existing law already restricts the freedom of contract, and the burdensome and unnecessary expansion of regulation proposed by this bill only exacerbates the problem. 

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