After hours of debate and numerous amendments, the Prince George’s County Council has put together its plan for what it calls “rent stabilization.”
The deal reached this week meets many of the demands raised by progressive advocates, leading the apartment industry to warn it will backfire in the long run. But the 10-0 preliminary vote this week, a culmination of lots of discussion and compromise among the council, made clear that this will be what passes into law when the final vote on the matter comes next month.
The sudden resignation of At-large Council member Mel Franklin — who would have been the sixth vote on the original plan circulated among the council — meant nothing would pass without more progressive buy-in. That included meeting demands for lower caps for age-restricted/senior housing.
“I just want to thank my colleagues,” said Council member Krystal Oriadha, who pushed for many of the changes adopted by the council. “This has been two years and change in the making. I know it’s been a rough ride, lots of varying opinions. But I’m proud that we’re passing permanent stabilization.”
The new law will apply to multifamily housing built before the turn of the century. It caps the rent hikes on those units at 3% plus the Consumer Price Index (inflation rate), with a maximum of 6% allowed. Landlords can also bank some of that — meaning if they only increase rent by 4% one year, for instance, then they can take that 2% and apply it the following year instead. Apartment buildings limited to seniors will have even lower caps than that.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by John Domen over at WTOP
