As disgruntled tenants lobby for rent control in a high-cost housing market, new residential policies are making their way onto the ballot this November, Fortune reports. Soaring rental costs, runaway inflation, and a dwindling supply of affordable housing units are opening up conversations about new regulations that could limit rent hikes which are exacerbating an existing affordability crisis.
In markets like Orange County, FL, voters will consider a ballot initiative that seeks to limit rent increases to the annual increase in the consumer price index, and similar measures are finding their way into regional elections all across the U.S.
Last year, voters in St. Paul, Minnesota, passed a ballot measure capping rents at 3% a year while residents across the river in Minneapolis backed a measure allowing the city council to enact a rent control ordinance.
This summer, Kingston, New York, became the first upstate city to enact rent control. The measure means around 1,200 units — buildings built before 1974 with six or more units — must limit rents to a percentage set by a rent guidelines board.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Housing Policy + Finance
Even With Inflation Running Hot and Elevated Mortgage Rates, Buyer Demand Rises
Mortgage rates will likely stay high for the next few months, but that doesn't seem to be deterring homebuyers
Housing Policy + Finance
The Garden State Takes a New Approach to Expanding Affordable Housing
Recent legislation in New Jersey could provide inspiration for eliminating affordable housing hurdles in other places with strong housing markets
Housing Policy + Finance
Housing As Health Care: The Debate Continues
As more states channel Medicaid money into housing, the debate around whether states should use public health insurance money to provide housing is intensifying