California Conservatives Champion 'Local Control' Until They Dislike the Results
Conservatives want local control over housing policy, but they're happy to let the state restrict when local governments can raise taxes.
Property Rights
5 Bills Signed by Wes Moore That Will Impact Housing and AI Development in Maryland
Couched with good intentions, new laws aimed at housing and artificial intelligence development will add more layers of red tape to Maryland’s growing bureaucracy.
250 Years Later, Benjamin Franklin's Warning Is Still Relevant
He famously said the Founders had created "a republic, if you can keep it." How have we kept it? And can we continue?
What I Learned Shadowing California's Katana-Wielding Anti-Squatter Enforcers
California's failure to eject squatters from the properties they've seized undermines the state's new housing laws.
Samurai vs. Squatters: On the Street With the Hired Swords Reclaiming California Property Owners' Stolen Homes
California has failed to protect private property from squatters. Desperate owners are turning to katana-wielding enforcers to reclaim their homes.
Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Alvin Roth on Organ Markets
Roth explains why legalizing kidney sales can save lives.
Is the California Coastal Commission Finally Losing Some of Its Regulatory Powers?
The commission has tormented property owners and localities ever since it was created in 1976. Finally, legislative and legal efforts are undoing some of its abuses.
Important Takings Challenge to Los Angeles Historic Preservation Law "Monument" Designation
Historic preservation laws often violate constitutional property rights, and block construction of new housing.
A SCOTUS Case Exposes the Dangers of 2 Misguided Fourth Amendment Doctrines
"Geofence" searches illustrate the perilous combination of modern technology and deference to law enforcement.
Innocent Property Owners Deserve 'Just Compensation' When Cops Wreck Their Homes or Businesses
Two petitions ask the Supreme Court to uphold the remedy required by the Fifth Amendment.
New Book Chapter on "The Right to Use Private Property"
It argues that the right to use property is central to both the value of property rights generally, and the property rights protected by the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Seattle University "Dean's Luminaries in Law" Interview on Immigration, Invasion, the Tariff Case, and More
I was interviewed by Seattle University Law School of Law Dean Tony Varona and Prof. Andrew Siegeil.
Mamdani's 'Rental Ripoff' Hearings Won't Fix New York Housing
Demonizing landlords might make for good social media, but it does nothing to reduce the regulations that make New York housing so expensive.
Thoughts on the Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Pung v. Isabella County Takings Case
Most of the discussion was focused on the wrong issue. What matters under the Takings Clause is not the "fairness" of the process by which the owner's house was taken, but whether he got adequate "just compensation."
Peru's Marxist President Changes His Mind, Doesn't Make Hernando de Soto Prime Minister
The libertarian-leaning economist warns of the coming “Venezuelization” of Peru.
Trump Demands Congress Ban Large Investors Owning Homes. Here's Why That's a Bad Idea.
Large investors are a small, beneficial presence in the single-family home market.
This California Family Is Suing for the Right To Drill for Oil on Their Own Property
“We’re standing up not just for ourselves, but for the principle that government must respect property rights.”
More Historical Evidence Showing that the Public Use Clause of the Fifth Amendment Does Not Allow Takings that Transfer Property to Private Parties
Harvard law Prof. Maureen Brady uncovers relevant evidence from late-nineteenth century state constitutional conventions.
Trump Issues Order Cracking Down on Corporate Homeownership
The president's order is not the comprehensive ban on large investor–owned housing that he promised. But it could still have a chilling effect on the single-family rental market.
Bureau of Land Management Says Bison Are Not Livestock, Obstructing Plans for a Huge Private Prairie Reserve
The American Prairie nonprofit seeks to create a 5,000-square-mile prairie reserve in Montana where buffalo may roam and antelope play.
SCOTUS Seems Inclined To Reject Hawaii's Default Rule Against Guns on Private Property Open to the Public
The state requires carry permit holders to obtain advance permission before bringing firearms into businesses.
Mamdani's Promise of the 'Warmth of Collectivism' Is a Lie. Just Ask All the Failed Communes.
History is very clear that property rights and capitalism are necessary for society to flourish.
Barring Institutional Investors From Buying Homes Won't Make Housing More Affordable - and Would Likely Make Things Worse
There is no evidence that institutional investors increase prices. Barring them from the market could actually exacerbate the housing crisis.
If You Give a Bear a Badge, Will It Respect Your Rights?
Despite their general ignorance of constitutional law, bears pose a much less grave threat to your civil liberties than humans do.
Yale Journal on Regulation Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London
I co-edited the symposium along with Eric Claeys and David Schleicher, and am also one of the contributors.
Brennan Center Symposium on "2025's Most Significant State Constitutional Cases"
Contributors include Eugene Volokh and myself, among many others.
Our Amicus Brief in the Pung v. Isabella County Home Equity Theft Takings Case
I wrote it (with help from others) on behalf of the Cato Institute and a group of takings and property scholars.
Non-Paywalled Version of My Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
The Cato Institute has posted one on its website.
My New Washington Examiner Article on "Foot Voting, Housing, and Affordability"
We can make housing more affordable and empower people to "vote with their feet" by curbing exclusionary zoning. Left and right should support that instead of counterproductive snake oil like rent control, tariffs, and deportations.
Covid Beach Closures, the Takings Clause, and the Police Power Exception
A recent 11th Circuit decision rightly ruled that mandatory Covid beach closures violated the Takings Clause. But the court overlooked the key issue of how to assess the "police power" exception to Takings Clause liability.
COVID Closure of Private Beach Access Constitutes a Taking
The Eleventh Circuit concludes "there is no COVID exception to the Takings Clause."
Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention Panel on Zoning, Property Rights, and the Housing Crisis
I participated along with James Burling (Pacific Legal Foundation), Prof. Peter Byrne (Georgetown), and Prof. Sara Bronin (George Washington University).
In Search of a New Environmentalism -- Hayward Replies
Steven Hayward has the final word in the recent Law & Liberty Forum on the future of environmental policy.
How Property Rights and Markets Are Overcoming the Marine Tragedy of the Commons
A discussion on the "Taboo Trades" podcast.
New Jersey Town Tentatively Agrees to Not Seize 175-Year-Old Family Farm
After a nationwide uproar over Cranbury, New Jersey's plan to seize Andy Henry's farm, the township says it's found another site to place a planned affordable housing development.
The Supreme Court Will Hear Another Home Equity Theft Takings Case
This one addresses the issue of whether the owner of a home foreclosed for nonpayment of debt is entitled to "fair market value" compensation, or only whatever the government gets from auctioning off the property, minus the debt owed.
European Nations Again Consider Using Frozen Russian State Assets to Fund Ukraine's War Effort
Over $300 billion in Russian state assets are frozen in the West. It's long past time they were used to help Ukraine resist Vladimir Putin's war of aggression.
YIMBY Reforms Win Big In State Legislatures in 2025
In 2025, momentum behind state-level supply-side housing reforms accelerated almost everywhere.
Abolish the FCC
The Trump Administration's recent abuses of the agency's powers lend weight to longstanding libertarian arguments for abolishing it, going back to Nobel Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase's classic 1959 article.
91-Year-Old Pennsylvania Woman With Dementia Loses $247,000 Home Over a $14,000 Tax Debt
Gloria Gaynor had almost finished paying off her house in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. But she will not see a dime in equity.
In California, YIMBYs Pass Holy Grail Zoning Reform
Plus: San Francisco preliminarily passes citywide upzoning, a New Jersey town backs off family farm seizure, and YIMBY martial law ruled illegal in Hawaii.
States and Landowners Are Key to Recovering Rare Species. Stop Penalizing Them.
Federal rules under the Endangered Species Act often treat landowners as adversaries. Recent court victories suggest a better way forward.
Help Workers by Breaking Down Barriers to Labor Mobility
Labor Day is a great time to remember that we can make workers vastly better off by empowering more of them to vote with their feet, both within countries and through international migration.
