Local lawmakers in suburban Maryland are backing a fresh wave of rent control legislation that would set rent caps far below the increases the market has seen in recent years.
Last week, activists organized by CASA and other local organizations were joined by several Montgomery County Council members to rally in support of a bill to set a cap on rent increases. In neighboring Prince George’s County, a bill that would set a temporary cap on rent increases at 3% for certain buildings received a favorable vote from a council committee on Tuesday, pushing it closer to adoption.
Advocates cite a hot rental market with quickly rising rents over the past three years as a sign that some limits need to be put in place to protect displacement of vulnerable renters. “We predict it’s just going to get worse and worse,” CASA organizer Alex Vazquez said of rent hikes. “That’s why we believe the moment is now.”
But the moves have developers concerned their profits will shrink at existing properties and they may lose the ability to get financing to construct new housing altogether.
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