The College Park City Council unveiled a rent control proposal Tuesday night that would cap single-family home rents at $1,800.
The College Park City Council unveiled its rent control proposal at Tuesday night’s worksession, already facing opposition from city landlords who warn rent control could actually cost the county money in the form of lost property taxes.
Citing the growing number of rental units and rising rents in College Park compared to the rest of Prince George’s County, District 2 Councilman Bob Catlin proposed adding a new chapter to the city code concerning “rent stabilization.” The chapter would limit single-family homes to a maximum monthly rent of $1,800 or 1 percent of the house’s taxable value, whichever is greater.
However, Catlin said his proposal needs a few more changes before it is ready, including an increase in the threshold from $1,800 to $1,929 based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s maximum fair-market rent for the Washington area.
Catlin said he would also reconsider the city’s process for adjusting the cap for inflation, which had been modeled after Takoma Park — the only other city in Maryland with a rent control law.
Prior to the council’s worksession, members of the Prince George’s County Property Owners Association passed out copies of an article from The Gazette about Takoma Park’s troubles with its rent control policy. The article cited a study conducted by the university’s School of Public Policy that showed the city, county and state lost nearly $800,000 in forgone property taxes, spurring Takoma Park’s City Council to call for reform.
Takoma Park’s problems likely won’t be repeated in College Park, Catlin said, since the state taxes apartments and single-family homes differently.
In Takoma Park, rent control laws apply only to apartments, which are taxed based upon the income they bring in. In College Park, the caps will not apply to apartments or dormitories, but only to single-family homes, which are taxed based on property value.
“Takoma Park tried to do something completely different,” Catlin said. “For single-family homes, there will be no loss of tax revenue.”
Under Catlin’s proposal, the rent caps would be monitored and adjusted by a seven-member board, including both landlords and tenants. Anyone could petition the board to raise or lower the rent cap on individual homes, and a formula would be put in place to allow landlords to raise rent and pay for improvements, Catlin said.
The rent control proposal is a vital component of the long-term housing plan established in 2003, which recommended ways to slow the growth of the city’s rental market and increase the quality of city housing.
Theoretically, rent caps decrease the profitability of converting single-family homes into rental housing in College Park’s high-demand market. Fewer houses become rentals, and more families are able to move in. Students, meanwhile, would be provided with new housing developments closer to the university in projects like University View or high-rise apartments proposed to replace the Knox boxes.
Catlin’s proposal specifically said “the current rental market in the city poses a threat to the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of College Park,” echoing the concerns of a handful of permanent residents who feel large numbers of student renters bring excessive traffic, noise and litter to residential neighborhoods.
The council will discuss the revisions in early April and will hold a public hearing April 27.
