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.

Consumer Guide Update: Teen Financial Literacy

By Louisiana REALTORS® • October 9, 2026
Want Your Teen to Own a Home Someday? Start Talking Money Now Teens may not be thinking about mortgage rates or down payments just yet, but the money habits they’re building now can follow them for years. And 88% of teens surveyed by Fannie Mae and Junior Achievement said they want to own a home someday. This week’s Consumer Guide: Talk to Your Teens About Money and Homeownership makes those conversations a little easier, covering everything from credit scores and budgeting to debt, renting versus owning and saving for that eventual down payment. So yes, you may have to interrupt the doomscrolling. But helping teens get smarter about money today could put them in a much better position to get the keys to a home of their own down the road. Download all of NAR’s Consumer Guides in English or Spanish at facts.realtor. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Teen Financial Literacy Fraud Red Flags Helping Family Members Become Homeowners Prepare Your Home for Hurricane Season Condominium Insurance 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. The next Consumer Guide, scheduled for publication on Oct. 21, will cover winter cold and storm preparedness.

Constitutional Amendment Positions for November 3 Election

By Louisiana REALTORS® • October 9, 2026
Homeownership Is on Louisiana's November Ballot

Cookbook for the REALTORS® Relief Foundation On Sale Now!

By Louisiana REALTORS® • October 8, 2026
After months of gathering recipes from across our Louisiana REALTORS® family, the cookbook is ready! This 200+ page collection is filled with Louisiana flavor, REALTOR® heart and recipes contributed by our members. We launched sales of the cookbook at the Fall Governance Meetings. You can now purchase your copy for $30 directly from the printer and shipped to you! Additionally, we will have copies available at the RRF booth at NXT . After NXT, we will carry a limited stock at the LR office for you to purchase through the LR Merch Shop and pick-up from the office or at an LR event, as stock is available. Even better, $15 from every cookbook sold will be donated to the REALTORS® Relief Foundation (RRF) to help provide housing-related assistance to REALTORS® and their families following disasters. Pick up a copy for yourself, grab one as a gift and enjoy a taste of Louisiana while supporting a great cause!
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