Montgomery County implements rent stabilization legislation

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County is moving forward on legislation almost a year in the making.

“It’s a really exciting moment,” says Councilmember Kristin Mink. “The community has been asking for this for years, actually.”

On Tuesday, the County Council unanimously voted to establish legislation meant to stabilize rent prices. Under the new laws, annual rent increases have a hard cap of 6%. An amendment also limits how much extra fines and fees property owners can charge.

Renters’ rights advocates, like Alex Vazquez of Organizing for Maryland, say this legislation is badly needed.

“We have the seen the consequences of a lack of protections for renters who’re experiencing, 10%, 15%, upwards of 25% if not more of rent increases annually,” he said.

However, the law does allow for exceptions.

Currently, newly built properties and property owners who rent two or fewer units are exempt. The law also allows landlords to make the case to increase rents beyond 6% if necessary.

The law also doesn’t apply to the entire county. The cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville are exempt since these cities operate their own planning and zoning departments.

“We want to make sure that buildings are kept up to code, that repairs continue to be made, but we also want to make sure that an insane level of profitability is not driving people out of their homes for no reason,” Mink says.

Councilmembers say balancing the needs of housing providers and tenants is the key to ensuring that Montgomery County effectively deals with its housing needs.

“Montgomery County is one of the most expensive places to live,” said Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles. “It costs more than $100,000 for a family of four to live here. That’s not the reality for a lot of people that want to live in our community.”

Critics of the laws say there’s a concern that they may push housing providers and developers out of Montgomery County, but councilmembers are confident the new regulations won’t affect the county’s housing supply.

“As you go around Montgomery County, you will see cranes in the sky,” Sayles said. “That shows people continue to want to live here.”