A Rent Stabilization Policy Review: Why should we care?
(Public Comment Delivered to City Council on Nov 5 2025)
- Do tenants know that Takoma Park’s ordinance limits rent increases for half the City’s renters to the rate of inflation (2.4% this year)?
- Do they know that allowable rent increases in most of the rest of Montgomery County this year is 5.7% and no caps in Rockville and Gaithersburg?
- Do home-owners know that half our neighbors are renters and that they and many of their children wouldn’t be in our neighborhoods and schools if not for our progressive Rent Stabilization ordinance?
- Isn’t this law what makes us the progressive and an inclusive community that we claim to be?
The City plans to pay a consultant at least $85,000 to help Council and Staff begin reviewing this important ordinance. Unfortunately, the timing is problematic and potentially dangerous for the participation by our immigrant population. 83% of renter households are non-white. The Federal government’s proposed cutbacks to affordable housing make the timing even worse. Community Vision for Takoma (CVT) recommends delay, but we will continue to monitor the study whenever it proceeds. We care about and are proud of our City’s leadership on progressive Rent Stabilization. Due in large part to this law our community is socio-economically and racially diverse. All of us are stakeholders in this review.
Consistent with the City’s 2019-30 Housing and Economic Development Strategic Plan, CVT supports a rent stabilization review that focuses on protecting the most vulnerable from displacement. CVT will consult and advocate with tenants to protect them from displacement as a result of possible rent increases or other proposed changes. We will also support changes that help small landlords address any unnecessary administrative burden to receiving Fair Return. We will also support ways to enhance both the quality and number of low to moderate income housing. Building on the RFP’s scope, I include with this testimony specific review recommendations for consideration by the consultant, Council and Staff. We care.
Frankly, we are concerned that some City leaders may ascribe to a one-dimensional development agenda at the expense of robust tenant protections. The suggestion that Rent Stabilization is preventing development in Takoma Park has not been backed up by actual evidence. It also ignores other factors, including the fact that the City is “already densely developed”, (per a City authorized assessment)1, and has the highest property tax rate in the County. To adequately analyze any barriers to additional multi-family housing, a much broader and deeper study would be required of relevant policies, economic trends and landuse research and involving a wider set of stakeholders.
It is clear nationally that moneyed interests have successfully lobbied to reduce the role of government in truly affordable housing. We are asking our City to buck this trend, protect our social contract and maintain the City’s robust and progressive role in preserving our economic, racial and social diversity.
As noted, I have included separately a list of study recommendations. It includes:
1) Clarify that the City’s 2019-2030 Housing and Economic Development Strategic Plan and its three main objectives (Preserving, Producing, and Protecting) will provide the foundational definitions for the three “pillars” of our housing policy.
2) Review contextual changes in the overall policy landscape and their bearing on the program at least since 2010.
3) Research and report back on the following data sets: a) Racial equity impacts of policies tracked over time, b) Rent-stabilized units converted to ownership by tenants, c) Quality and safety of units in rent-stabilized buildings, and
4) Plan secure meetings with tenants on the premises of stabilized housing buildings.
As Takoma Park residents and advocates for good government, CVT welcomes the opportunity ahead to share input and discuss this important review with the Council, Staff and consultant. Thank you for your openness to broad community engagement. In that spirit, we urge the Council to define and clarify
“effectiveness,” the stated goal in the proposed ordinance. Lastly, I trust that the Council and staff will consider and forward our recommendations to the consultant selected. Thank you.
Randy Gibson, on behalf of Community Vision for Takoma
- City of Takoma Park Housing and Economic Data Analysis, The Cloudburst Group, Oct., 2017. One of the “Key Findings”, p. 13: “Because Takoma Park is largely built out, there is little new residential construction.”