NAR Success Stories - NOMAR Minimizes the Impact of New Rental Regulations

Louisiana Realtors® • March 30, 2023

With a Land Use Initiative and Advocacy Everywhere, New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors® Minimize Impact of New Rental Regulations

Faced with the prospect of two restrictive new rental regulations, the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® (NOMAR) first tried to reason with the City Council. When that failed, they turned to the REALTOR® Party for assistance: a Land Use Initiative analysis and a Call For Action convinced the lawmakers, through legal reasoning and powerful public persuasion, to pass a mitigated version of the regulations that the REALTORS® found acceptable.


Kelli Walker Starrett, NOMAR’s CEO, explains that the association has been opposing rent registration ordinances for years. In 2016, they challenged a similar proposal by asking questions raised by a REALTOR® Party Land Use Initiative, which the Council couldn’t answer – so the ordinance was shelved. When the issue resurfaced in 2022, a tenant advocacy group whose tactics rely on sensationalized media attention had pushed the Council to instate two fee-based ordinances, a rental registration and a mandatory inspection ordinance called ‘Healthy Homes.’ Says Starrett, “They painted the New Orleans rental industry as being in the midst of an epidemic of squalor, but that’s just not the reality. Still, the Council largely bought into it, some of them only because they didn’t want to be on the record opposing rental improvement; meanwhile, our new Mayor had been the Councilmember who’d pressed for rental ordinances all those years ago. The fact is,” she continues, “regulations like these have been imposed in cities across the country, and we have yet to see positive results from them anywhere.”


NOMAR tapped into the Land Use Initiative resource offered by the REALTOR® Party, and the analysis that came back was plenty strong, referring to various aspects of the draft ordinance as “arbitrary,” “nonsensical,” and possibly “vulnerable to challenge under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” Armed with this report, the REALTORS® used Advocacy Everywhere to put out both a member- and public-facing Call For Action, explaining that the proposed regulations would exacerbate the City’s affordable housing shortage and would not have the desired outcome of holding slumlords accountable. In an amusing twist, reports Starrett, “A City Councilmember who couldn’t openly oppose the rental regulations, but who’d seen a CFA in action before, called and advised us to launch one, even knowing the consequences would undoubtedly affect the Council, himself included. The Councilmember stated, ‘I know you have the tools in your toolbelt; use them!’ And we did!” The membership’s response was strong and swift.


In the meantime, Starrett harnessed the expertise of the many NOMAR members involved in the rental market, convening several ‘stakeholder groups’ of seasoned property managers who helped craft compromises to minimize the effects of the proposed requirements. At the end of the day, the City Council adopted a no-cost registration and inspections only when a property is reported as having a suspected violation. “Our CFA had enough of an impact that the Council heavily watered down the original ordinance so that it really isn’t effective at all and will be a very minimal burden on property owners,” says Starrett. “We’re grateful for the support from the REALTOR® Party that helped us achieve this much.”


View the full article HERE.


Compliant advertising under the Fair Housing Act

Navigating Fair Housing Advertising Standards: A Guide for Real Estate Professionals

By Louisiana REALTORS® • April 24, 2026
Avoid costly fair housing violations with expert tips on compliant real estate advertising, from listing language to social media targeting strategies.

2026 Legislative Session Scoop - Week 7 Recap

By Louisiana REALTORS® • April 24, 2026
Week seven of the 2026 Regular Session was one of the most active weeks yet for legislation affecting the real estate industry. Louisiana REALTORS® remained heavily engaged as lawmakers advanced bills dealing with property disclosures, appraiser liability, rent regulation, insurance, blight, redevelopment and other issues that directly affect real estate professionals, property owners and consumers across the state. One of the most important bills this week was HB 1166 by Rep. Kim Carver , which would require disclosures for vacant residential property. The bill was reported from House Commerce with amendments on a 14-0 vote and then amended on the House floor, ordered engrossed, and passed to third reading. Louisiana REALTORS® testified on the bill in committee and worked closely with the author to better posture the legislation. Amendments advanced by our team were accepted by the author, helping improve the bill while preserving a practical disclosure framework that increases transparency without creating unnecessary confusion in the transaction process. Another closely watched issue this week was consumer-fee disclosure legislation. HB 617 by Rep. Mandie Landry moved this week, advancing from House Commerce and then the House floor, while HB 580 , another hidden-fee disclosure bill touching real estate transactions, remains pending. Louisiana REALTORS® is opposed to these measures in their current form to the extent they apply to real estate professionals because they are not well-tailored to the realities of real estate transactions, where many costs are negotiated, variable or controlled by third parties. Louisiana REALTORS® testified in opposition to the bills we oppose and is actively working with the author to better posture the legislation and remove real estate professionals from its scope altogether. On HB 472 by Rep. Alonzo Knox , the rent stabilization bill, the author is expected to try to bring the measure back before the committee next week with amendments. Even so, Louisiana REALTORS® remain opposed to the bill on principle. Price gouging is already illegal under existing law, and government-imposed rent regulation is not the right answer to housing affordability challenges. Louisiana REALTORS® testified in opposition to the bill and continues to oppose the measure because policies like this risk discouraging investment, reducing housing supply, and creating further market distortions rather than solving the underlying problem. HB 468 by Rep. Troy Hebert , which regulates the wholesale of residential real property, remains pending in the Senate Commerce Committee and continues to be an important bill for the industry. Likewise, HB 1027 by Rep. Troy Hebert , dealing with appraiser liability, had a strong week, passing the House 90-0 and moving to the Senate. Both measures are significant because they promote greater clarity, consumer protection and confidence in the real estate marketplace. Blight and redevelopment issues also remained active. HB 284 by Rep. John Wyble , which would allow certain local governments to expropriate blighted property through a declaration-of-taking process, remains subject to call and continues to raise serious concerns about private property rights. By contrast, HB 214 and HB 217 by Rep. Chance Henry , which create tax incentives for the rehabilitation of blighted property, represent a more constructive redevelopment approach by encouraging reinvestment rather than expanding government taking authority. Insurance legislation also remained a major focus this week, with multiple bills heard that could affect homeownership costs, market stability and post-storm recovery. Measures dealing with Louisiana Citizens assessments, pre-suit insurance claim review, the Fortified Homes Program and insurance market transparency all carry real implications for affordability and transaction viability. In Louisiana, insurance remains one of the most important issues affecting the real estate market, and Louisiana REALTORS® continues to closely track that legislation. Taken together, week seven showed that Louisiana REALTORS® remains actively engaged where it matters most: supporting practical transaction standards, protecting private property rights, testifying for and against legislation when necessary, pushing back on unworkable regulation and rent-control-style policies, and advancing policies that strengthen housing opportunity and market stability across Louisiana. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.

Consumer Guide Update: Navigating Interest Rates Shifts

By Louisiana REALTORS® • April 23, 2026
NAR is pleased to share the latest consumer guide helping buyers navigate shifting interest rates. The one-page guide covers how lenders set rates, the impact of small shifts on monthly payments and strategies to get the lowest rate possible. As a reminder, all guides in this series are available for download—in both English and Spanish—on facts.realtor . Please allow up to two weeks for the Spanish version of the latest resource to be translated and uploaded. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Navigating Interest Rate Shifts Financing a Renovation When You Buy Staging Your House for a Sale Spotting Deepfake Scams in Real Estate Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate? Thank you for your continued engagement with the “Consumer Guide” series and for sharing the resources with prospective clients to ensure they have the information they need to find success in their home buying or selling journey. Remember that these guides are for informational purposes only and are not meant to enact or change any existing NAR policy. Be on the lookout for the next consumer guide, which looks at how solar installations may impact home sales transactions.
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