NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation (SLI) project released on October 24 a new publication exploring rent stabilization measures in two jurisdictions: Prince George’s County, Maryland, and Portland, Oregon. The publication is the latest installment in NLIHC’s State and Local Tenant Protection Series: A Primer on Renters’ Rights, a collection of resources aiming to shape the conversation about state and local tenant protections. Read the new case study.
Throughout the U.S., renters are contending with a shortage of affordable and available homes. According to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines, housing is “affordable” when a renter pays 30% or less of their income on housing and utility costs combined. By this measure, no state in the country has an adequate supply of affordable and available homes. Indeed, according to NLIHC’s report The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes – a yearly publication that documents the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S. – there was a shortage of 7.3 million affordable and available homes for renters with extremely low incomes in 2023.
The shortage of affordable housing and the strain on low-income renters have been exacerbated recently by skyrocketing rents and high rates of inflation. Between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2023, rents rose by 23.9% nationally. Rental costs have also outpaced worker wages. By 2023, more than 21 million renter households were “cost-burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, while 11.7 million renter households were “severely cost-burdened,” paying at least 50% of their income on rent, according to NLIHC’s most recent Out of Reach report.
To support renters amid rapidly rising rents, lawmakers in state and local jurisdictions around the country have sought to pass “rent stabilization” laws. Known also as “anti-rent gouging” laws, rent stabilization laws place limits on the amount that a landlord or property owner can raise rents within a certain time frame. The intent of rent stabilization laws is to ensure that tenants are not displaced from their homes due to increasing rental costs.
The new case studies explore rent stabilization laws passed recently in two jurisdictions: Prince George’s County, Maryland and Portland, Oregon. In the first case, the case study highlights the years-long efforts undertaken by tenant advocates and lawmakers in Prince George’s County to secure permanent rent stabilization protections for renters, codified into law in 2024 through “Council Bill 055-2024.” In the second case, the case study explores how a relocation assistance law passed in Portland – “Ordinance No. 188219” – helped keep tenants housed amid a citywide “housing emergency” and how local advocacy organizations drew on the advocacy efforts that led to passage of the relocation assistance law to push for state-level rent stabilization protections, which were eventually secured through “Senate Bill 608,” passed in 2019.
Like other materials in the State and Local Tenant Protection Series, the new publication is meant to help state and local advocates identify successful tactics for advancing, enacting, and implementing tenant protections in their own jurisdictions, as well as to offer insights into the challenges that can occur during the advocacy and legislative processes. The case studies also highlight the qualitative impact of these protections for tenants and how such laws can be critical in mitigating the threat of housing instability.
NLIHC will publish one more case study this year exploring additional tenant protections that can work in tandem with rental junk fee laws to ensure housing stability and prevent evictions. Explore NLIHC’s State and Local Tenant Protections Database to learn about the more than 600 tenant protections that have been enacted in states and localities around the country.
Download the new case study here.
Learn more about NLIHC's SLI project here.