It was an uphill battle, but to defeat the multiple rent control bills expected to surface in the 2025 legislative session, Nevada REALTORS® had to shift public perception that rent control was a silver-bullet solution for the housing crisis – a belief that was polling favorably across the state, at about 80%. With help from an Issues Mobilization grant from the REALTOR® Party, they launched a comprehensive campaign that turned the tide, raising public understanding that rent control was not the answer, and, in turn, providing legislators and the governor with the backing necessary to oppose the legislation.
Nevada REALTORS®’ Legislative Chair Azim Jessa and 2025 President Brandon Roberts led the effort. Having faced a raft of similar bills in the previous session, the REALTORS® were prepared. “There was no denying that rents had been skyrocketing and that housing production had slowed,” says Roberts. “Our goal was to explain why the unintended consequences of rent control policies are detrimental to the long-term stability and growth of our communities, and to get out ahead of the prevailing ‘greedy landlord’ narrative. These policies may seem like a quick fix, but ultimately, they take a toll on housing availability, property maintenance, and even public health; they reduce property tax revenue for local governments, and often adversely affect people of color at a greater rate. The ‘Truth About Rent Control’ campaign was all about highlighting the dangers of rent control, framing Nevada’s landlords as a predominantly hard-working mom-and-pop economy, and positioning REALTORS® as champions of responsible housing solutions.”
With a dedicated website leveraging education-to-advocacy, and strategic television and online advertising, the campaign reached a wide audience first with facts, then with emotion, in the form of relatable anecdotes. “In the beginning, a lot of the focus was on explaining why rent control just doesn’t work for the economy, for communities, or for property owners,” said Jessa. “As things progressed, we shifted gears. We started highlighting real people, the landlords who work hard and care about their tenants. Their stories, especially through the video campaign, helped show that most property owners in our state are just regular Nevadans trying to make a living.”
Editorials published in local and state-wide papers also featured small-time landlords struggling to maintain their hard-earned investment properties, such as a Culinary Union housekeeper, a city bus driver, a young nurse, and a terminally ill owner – all of them Nevadans without deep pockets, whose situations were threatened by the prospect of rent control.
The campaign was able to strike a forward-looking and positive tone in highlighting policies that help jurisdictions to build more, not less.
“It was a lot of work, but the effort was an astounding success,” states Tiffany Banks, CEO of the Nevada REALTORS®. “Our polling showed that statewide opinions on rent control moved about twenty points by the end of the campaign, early in 2025, and we didn’t let up through the session. The pundits and key stakeholders were definitely feeling the pressure.” In the end, one of the proposed rent control bills was pulled by its sponsor, and another was vetoed by the governor.
Not only was the Truth About Rent Control campaign a success in its own right, but the governor’s office has held it up as a model playbook for future policy issues that require promotion. And although the official campaign has ended, says Banks, “The REALTORS® will never stop educating the public about the value they bring to property-rights advocacy.” The campaign website currently features a prominent message thanking the governor for keeping harmful rent control policies out of Nevada.
To learn more about how Nevada REALTORS® is championing affordable housing and private property rights, contact Julie Walburn, Vice President of Public Affairs at jwalburn@redrockstrategies.com; Amanda Moss, Public Affairs Director, at amanda@redrockstrategies.com; or Jenny Reese, Director of Government Affairs, at jennyreese@me.com or 775-762-2966. To view the campaign website, visit: https://www.truthaboutrentcontrol.com/ Nevada REALTORS® Campaign to Defeat Statewide Rent Control Legislation
August 2025
It was an uphill battle, but to defeat the multiple rent control bills expected to surface in the 2025 legislative session, Nevada REALTORS® had to shift public perception that rent control was a silver-bullet solution for the housing crisis – a belief that was polling favorably across the state, at about 80%. With help from an Issues Mobilization grant from the REALTOR® Party, they launched a comprehensive campaign that turned the tide, raising public understanding that rent control was not the answer, and, in turn, providing legislators and the governor with the backing necessary to oppose the legislation.
Nevada REALTORS®’ Legislative Chair Azim Jessa and 2025 President Brandon Roberts led the effort. Having faced a raft of similar bills in the previous session, the REALTORS® were prepared. “There was no denying that rents had been skyrocketing and that housing production had slowed,” says Roberts. “Our goal was to explain why the unintended consequences of rent control policies are detrimental to the long-term stability and growth of our communities, and to get out ahead of the prevailing ‘greedy landlord’ narrative. These policies may seem like a quick fix, but ultimately, they take a toll on housing availability, property maintenance, and even public health; they reduce property tax revenue for local governments, and often adversely affect people of color at a greater rate. The ‘Truth About Rent Control’ campaign was all about highlighting the dangers of rent control, framing Nevada’s landlords as a predominantly hard-working mom-and-pop economy, and positioning REALTORS® as champions of responsible housing solutions.”
With a dedicated website leveraging education-to-advocacy, and strategic television and online advertising, the campaign reached a wide audience first with facts, then with emotion, in the form of relatable anecdotes. “In the beginning, a lot of the focus was on explaining why rent control just doesn’t work for the economy, for communities, or for property owners,” said Jessa. “As things progressed, we shifted gears. We started highlighting real people, the landlords who work hard and care about their tenants. Their stories, especially through the video campaign, helped show that most property owners in our state are just regular Nevadans trying to make a living.”
Editorials published in local and state-wide papers also featured small-time landlords struggling to maintain their hard-earned investment properties, such as a Culinary Union housekeeper, a city bus driver, a young nurse, and a terminally ill owner – all of them Nevadans without deep pockets, whose situations were threatened by the prospect of rent control.
The campaign was able to strike a forward-looking and positive tone in highlighting policies that help jurisdictions to build more, not less.
“It was a lot of work, but the effort was an astounding success,” states Tiffany Banks, CEO of the Nevada REALTORS®. “Our polling showed that statewide opinions on rent control moved about twenty points by the end of the campaign, early in 2025, and we didn’t let up through the session. The pundits and key stakeholders were definitely feeling the pressure.” In the end, one of the proposed rent control bills was pulled by its sponsor, and another was vetoed by the governor.
Not only was the Truth About Rent Control campaign a success in its own right, but the governor’s office has held it up as a model playbook for future policy issues that require promotion. And although the official campaign has ended, says Banks, “The REALTORS® will never stop educating the public about the value they bring to property-rights advocacy.” The campaign website currently features a prominent message thanking the governor for keeping harmful rent control policies out of Nevada.
To learn more about how Nevada REALTORS® is championing affordable housing and private property rights, contact Julie Walburn, Vice President of Public Affairs at jwalburn@redrockstrategies.com; Amanda Moss, Public Affairs Director, at amanda@redrockstrategies.com; or Jenny Reese, Director of Government Affairs, at jennyreese@me.com or 775-762-2966. To view the campaign website, visit: https://www.truthaboutrentcontrol.com/
Post a comment