Economic & Social Justice

• National Housing and Tenant Protections Policy: The Labor Party advocates for a comprehensive national housing and tenant protection framework that ensures fair, stable, and affordable housing for all. This policy consolidates key housing, tenant, and consumer protection measures to prevent displacement, curb corporate speculation, and safeguard renters' rights nationwide.
  1. Rent Stabilization and Affordability
     • Nationwide Rent Increase Caps: Limit rent increases to no more than 3% per year or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower.
     • Justification for Rent Increases: Landlords must disclose and justify rent increases exceeding the cap.
     • Rent Increase Notice Requirement: Mandate at least 180 days' notice for any rent increase above 3% and 60 days' notice for smaller increases.
     • Emergency Rent Freeze: Implement a national ban on rent increases and evictions during federally declared emergency events, including natural disasters, economic crises, or public health emergencies.
  2. Tenant and Eviction Protections
     • Just Cause Eviction Nationwide: Require valid legal grounds for eviction, including:
     • Nonpayment of rent (after a reasonable grace period and opportunity to remedy).
     • Substantial renovations requiring vacancy (with guaranteed tenant relocation assistance).
     • Landlord or family move-in (limited to one unit per building).
       1. Winter Eviction Ban: Prohibit evictions from November 1 through March 31 or during extreme weather.
       2. Mandatory Relocation Assistance: Require landlords to pay relocation costs for displaced tenants in cases of:
          • No-fault evictions.
          • Rent increases exceeding 10%.
          • Building demolition or conversion.
       3. Right to Legal Representation: Establish a national Right to Counsel program ensuring free legal aid for low-income tenants facing eviction.
  3. Rental Deposit, Fee Regulations, and Credit Protections
     • Security Deposit & Fee Limits:
       1. Limit security deposits to one month's rent.
       2. Allow tenants to pay deposits and move-in fees in installments.
       3. Ban non-refundable move-in fees.
       4. All deposits and fees must be placed in interest-bearing accounts held in escrow to be returned to the tenant, including interest, which will be untaxed.
       5. All deposits and fees minus verified damages must be returned to the tenant within 14 days after moving out.
       6. Prohibit triple-net and maintenance expenses to be tacked on to rents as separate fees.
       7. Late Fee Restrictions: Cap late fees at no more than $10 monthly.
       8. Ban on Credit Scoring and History Checks:
          • Prohibit landlords from using credit scores, past bankruptcies, or rental history as screening criteria.
          • Establish a standardized, non-discriminatory application process ensuring equal access to housing.
  4. Renter Screening and Anti-Discrimination Laws
     • First-in-Time Rule: Require landlords to offer available rental units to the first qualified applicant, preventing bias in the selection process.
     • Ban on Criminal Background Discrimination: Landlords cannot reject tenants based on criminal history, except for individuals with active sex offender registries.
     • Source of Income Protections: Prohibit discrimination against tenants receiving housing assistance, disability benefits, or other forms of public assistance.
  5. Tenant Rights to Habitability and Repairs
     • National Repair and Maintenance Standards:
       1. Landlords must address emergency repairs (e.g., lack of heat, water, electricity) within 24 hours.
       2. Major repairs (e.g., leaks, mold, structural issues) must be resolved within 72 hours.
       3. If landlords fail to meet repair deadlines outlined above in 5.a.1 (24-hour emergency repairs) or 5.a.2 (72-hour urgent repairs), they must provide financial compensation to affected tenants, including:
          • Daily Rent Credit: A rent credit equivalent to the daily prorated rent for each day the repair remains incomplete beyond the deadline.
          • Hotel or Alternative Lodging Compensation: If the unaddressed issue renders the unit uninhabitable, landlords must cover the cost of temporary housing for all leaseholders and dependent occupants.
            1. Housing costs will be based on the average hotel rate within a 20-minute travel radius.
            2. Compensation will default to the statewide average hotel rate in rural or remote areas where no accommodations exist within this range.
          • These compensation measures will remain in effect until repairs are completed and the unit is fully restored to a habitable condition.
       4. Non-emergency maintenance requests must be resolved within 10 days.
     • ‍Rent Reductions for Code Violations: Tenants can petition for rent adjustments if landlords fail to maintain habitable conditions.
     • ‍Proactive Inspections: Require annual inspections for rental properties to ensure health, safety, and housing code compliance.
  6. Corporate Landlord Regulations and Housing Equity
     • Ban Corporate Ownership of Single-Family Homes: Prohibit hedge funds, private equity firms, and institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes as investment properties.
     • National Vacancy Tax:
       1. Tax corporate-owned residential properties left vacant for more than 6 months without renovation or active leasing.
       2. Funds generated will be used for affordable housing development and homelessness prevention programs.
     • Right to Purchase for Tenants: Establish a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), giving tenants the first right to purchase their rental unit if the owner decides to sell.
  7. Short-Term Rental Regulations (i.e. Airbnb, Vrbo)
     • Cap on short-term rentals:
       1. Limit landlords and property owners to one short-term rental property per city.
       2. Ban corporate and similar entities from operating Airbnb-style rental empires.
  8. Right to Legal and Financial Protections
     • Mandatory Lease Renewal Offer: Landlords must offer lease renewals unless they have a legally justifiable reason to withhold such offers.
     • Ban on Predatory Lending and Rental Schemes: Prohibit excessive rental application fees, payday-style rental loans, and lease-to-own scams.
     • Provide civil and criminal penalties for individual ultimate owners in rent fixing and collusion schemes.
     • All non-refundable fees and penalties unrelated to tenant repairs must be paid into a tenant legal defense fund to cover court costs and private legal counsel.
• Affordable Housing & Tenant Protections
  1. Implement public housing expansion and strengthen rent controls.
  2. Limit corporate landlord ownership of residential property.
• Ban Large Scale Single-Family Corporate Landlords – Limit Wall Street firms from buying residential housing and increasing rent.
  1. Implement a progressive tax system for individuals or entities owning more than three residential properties with 1-4 units each.
     • Track ultimate owners of businesses to prevent circumvention of these laws.
  2. Force the sale of 1-4 unit residential portfolio properties from any organization with any ultimate owner with more than seven units.
• Expand Cooperative Housing & Financing – Support co-op housing with federal grants, low-interest loans, and tax incentives.
  1. Create a residential cooperative housing bank specializing in lending to borrowers of residential cooperatives, cooperative housing organizations, cooperative housing startups, and new construction.
  2. Create incentives for cooperative housing organizations to operate their rules and bylaws to form limited equity housing cooperatives.
  3. Create incentives for cooperative housing from multifamily apartment buildings to enhance home ownership.
• End Speculative Housing & Land Hoarding – Tax vacant properties and restrict private equity from mass-purchasing residential neighborhoods.
• Tax owners of housing units that are left vacant for periods longer than 6 months without remodeling and renovation permits or permission from the courts.
• Accessible & Affordable Education – Invest in public education, trade schools, and student debt relief.
• Tax Fairness – Close corporate tax loopholes and ensure billionaires and corporations pay their fair share.
• Infrastructure & Public Transit Investment
  1. Create jobs through roads, bridges, broadband, and transit investments.
  2. Expand fare-free public transit and high-speed rail infrastructure.
• Rural & Small-Town Economic Revitalization – Bring good jobs and infrastructure to underserved communities.
• Remote Work - incentivize businesses through tax credits to allow all workers that can work from home to do so and require businesses to provide evidence-based reasoning why any worker would be required to work from a specific location (such as certain types of service workers, construction workers, and similar roles).
• Voting Rights & Democracy Protection – Expand voting access and stop voter suppression.
• Automatic voter registration - All eligible voters are automatically registered to vote in their districts for all eligible elections.
• Abolish Unpaid Internships – Ensure all labor, including internships, is paid.
• Wealth Tax & Excessive CEO Pay Limits – Implement a progressive tax on extreme wealth and cap CEO pay relative to worker pay.
• Right to Banking Access – Mandate access to no-fee basic bank accounts for all workers, preventing financial discrimination.

Global Justice & Reparations for Colonial Exploitation and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Labor Party acknowledges that the historical exploitation of colonized nations, Indigenous peoples, and the transatlantic slave trade created generational economic disparities that persist today. The extraction of labor, wealth, and resources built the foundations of modern economies in the United States, Europe, and other colonial powers while systematically impoverishing Black, Indigenous, and formerly colonized communities.

Although the United States eventually declared independence from European colonial rule, many economic and political structures established under colonialism persisted. Through trade dependencies, financial entanglements, and geopolitical pressures, both the United States and former European empires continued to profit from slavery, territorial conquest, and labor exploitation. Former colonial powers simultaneously limited U.S. industrial development while benefiting from the nation’s participation in oppressive systems.

The Labor Party recognizes that reparative justice must be pursued domestically and internationally, ensuring that U.S. taxpayers are not burdened with redress. Former colonial powers that initially profited from slavery and resource extraction must be held accountable for their foundational role in creating today’s racial wealth disparities and systemic inequalities.

• Federal Policy on Personal & Economic Redress
  1. Establish a Federal Redress Program to compensate for the generational harms of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, and systemic discrimination through direct economic redress.
  2. Oversight by Affected Community Representatives: Create a dedicated Commission composed of Black or other affected community representatives to oversee:
     • Direct cash payments
     • Land grants
     • Tax relief
     • Tuition-free higher education
     • Banking/credit access
     • Business development funding
• Homeownership Assistance: Provide federal support to Black families to address racial wealth disparities caused by discriminatory housing policies.
• Community Investments: Expand infrastructure, healthcare, no-interest lending, and revitalization efforts in historically marginalized Black communities.

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Tribal Sovereignty & Redress

• Tribal Sovereignty & Self-Determination: Fully honor and enforce all treaties, restore tribal lands where possible, and ensure Indigenous nations have complete control over governance, resources, and law enforcement.
• Land Back & Sacred Site Protection: Return federally controlled lands to tribal sovereignty and protect sacred sites.
• Economic Development & Tribal Business Empowerment: Fund Native-owned businesses and tribal-led sustainable industries.
• Climate Justice & Environmental Protections: Recognize Indigenous stewardship, ban projects violating tribal land rights, and fund climate resilience efforts.
• Healthcare & Mental Health Equity: Fully fund the Indian Health Service (IHS) and expand addiction treatment services to address health disparities.
• Justice & Public Safety for Native Communities: Strengthen tribal jurisdiction over crimes and increase funding for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women initiatives.
• Cultural & Language Revitalization: Provide federal funding for Indigenous language preservation and tribal-led education.
• Housing & Infrastructure: Invest in affordable housing, clean water, broadband expansion, and sustainable infrastructure on tribal lands.
• Representation & Political Power: Ensure Indigenous voices are represented (e.g., dedicated Indigenous advisory councils, potential representation in Congress).

Reclaiming U.S. Costs for Slavery & Colonial Exploitation from Former Imperial Powers

• U.S. Redress Reimbursement Fund: Establish an international legal and diplomatic effort to seek financial restitution from Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and other colonial states and successor states and organizations for the economic burdens placed on the U.S. due to systemic racial and economic inequities first created under their colonial rule and later exacerbated by their concerted efforts and economic international foreign and trade policies. These funds would be directed to U.S. reparations programs supporting Black and Indigenous communities.
• Legal & Trade Leverage: Pursue claims through international courts (e.g., the ICC, U.N. Human Rights Council), holding European powers accountable for creating racial wealth disparities in the U.S.
• Tariffs on Former Colonial Powers: Impose targeted tariffs on goods and financial transactions involving European countries that refuse to contribute to reparations and debt relief.

Global Justice & International Reparations Effort

• Debt Cancellation for Post-Colonial Nations: Advocate for the cancellation of illegitimate debts imposed on former colonies by financial institutions and governments that profited from subjugation.
• Climate Reparations for Environmental Destruction: Hold former colonial powers accountable for ecological devastation caused by resource extraction, compelling them to finance adaptation and restoration in affected nations.
• Restitution of Stolen Land & Wealth: Demand the return of artifacts and financial assets taken during colonial rule, with penalties for institutions that refuse to comply.
• Legal Recourse for Post-Colonial Nations: Support efforts by formerly colonized nations to seek legal redress in international courts for economic and human rights violations committed under colonialism.
• Mea Culpa: Acknowledge our part as a nation in these practices.

Corporate Accountability for Colonial Profits

• Corporate Liability for Colonial Profits: Identify and pursue financial restitution from multinational banks, insurers, and corporations—such as Barclays, Lloyd’s of London, and successors to the Dutch West India Company—that historically profited from slavery and resource exploitation.
• Historical Financial Crimes Investigations: Mandate audits and transparency requirements for European financial institutions holding assets derived from American slavery or colonial land theft, compelling restitution payments to a U.S. reparations trust.

Cost Recovery for U.S. Social & Economic Programs

• Direct Compensation for Federal & State Programs: Require former colonial nations to contribute to funding U.S. initiatives that address racial wealth disparities, including:
  1. Housing assistance for Black and other Americans affected by redlining and similar policies
  2. Education and tuition-free higher education initiatives
  3. Economic development in historically Black and Indigenous communities
  4. Healthcare and mental health services to address generational trauma

• Tax Incentives for American Businesses: Offer reduced corporate tax rates to U.S. companies that invest in racial economic justice, funded partly by payments from European governments and corporations responsible for early colonial exploitation.

Enforcing Economic Justice & Anti-Exploitation Measures

• Trade & Economic Sanctions: Restrict trade and diplomatic agreements with former colonial powers that refuse to acknowledge or pay restitution for past abuses.
• Ending Modern Colonialism & Resource Extraction: Implement regulations preventing multinational corporations from exploiting labor, land, and resources in post-colonial nations through predatory trade agreements. 15
• Protection for Migrants from Former Colonies: Grant immigration priority and asylum protections to individuals fleeing economic conditions caused by historical colonial extraction, ongoing domination by former imperial nations, and international colonial and imperialist destabilization efforts by domestic and foreign corporations.

Land & Resource Restitution

• Transfer of Colonial Holdings to U.S. Communities: Require European nations that still maintain financial stakes in U.S. land and resources due to colonial-era agreements to relinquish claims and return assets to Indigenous and historically Black communities or communities that these practices may have directly impacted.
• Federal Seizure of Unclaimed Colonial Wealth: Investigate and repurpose any remaining colonial-era land trusts, financial instruments, or assets in U.S. jurisdiction for redress.

Recognition & Historical Truth-Telling

• Congressional Hearings on Colonial Responsibility: Establish a commission to publicly investigate former colonial powers' role in shaping U.S. racial and economic inequities, applying pressure for reparations contributions.
• Official U.S. Recognition of Colonial & Slavery-Based Crimes: Create a national commission to formally acknowledge and document the harms caused by American slavery and neocolonial policies.
• Mandated Redress Education: Integrate the history of colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade, and economic exploitation into public school curricula to build public understanding of the need for reparative justice.
• Memorials & Public Acknowledgment: Fund national monuments, museums, and historical preservation projects recognizing the legacies of colonialism and slavery.
• International Redress Coalition: Form diplomatic partnerships with Caribbean, Latin American, and African nations seeking reparations from European colonial powers, creating a united front to recover funds from shared former colonizers.
• Truth & Reconciliation Commission: Establish a federal Truth & Reconciliation Commission—alongside or in coordination with the Reparations Commission—to collect testimony from impacted communities, facilitate restorative dialogues, and produce legally actionable recommendations for further reparative measures.