RICHMOND, Va. — A new bill in the General Assembly could give cities the ability to regulate how much landlords can charge renters.
Delegate Nadarius Clark (D, 84th District) is behind a bill that would limit how much landlords can charge renters, require them to give advance warning of rent increases, and impose penalties if landlords don’t comply.
It would be up to individual cities to enforce the bill or not.
“This bill is a rent stabilization bill. It’s an anti-rent gouging bill," Clark said. “This is a local option. So, your city council would have the option to enact this anti-rent gouging measure or not. We’re not enforcing or mandating anything but we’re allowing localities to have this in their toolbelt as a way to make sure rent prices aren’t getting out of control.”
According to the bill, rent increases would be tied to inflation. The bill says that should cities enforce this legislation, city leaders "shall calculate an annual residential anti-rent gouging allowance that is no more than the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index from March in the preceding year to March in the current year or seven percent, whichever is less."
Alex Fella, a Christopher Newport University adjunct professor and director of CityWork, has tracked rental prices in Hampton Roads for years. He said the price is trending up with no end in sight.
“There’s an old joke that I love, and I love to tell it frequently: we can see a light at the end of the tunnel but it’s just another train coming to hit us," Fella said.
He said this bill could be a game-changer.
“This is honest-to-God legislation that will make a material difference to the poor and working class in Virginia," Fella said. “This bill is a form of rent control. It’s a major piece of legislation that’s aiming to introduce rent control. The bill essentially ties the maximum amount that a landlord can increase rent to the inflation index or 7 percent, whichever is less.”
Fella said another big part of this bill is the creation of an “anti-rent gouging board.” According to the bill, that board would oversee rent increases and the rules guiding them.
“It allows for the creation of a civilian oversight board which to me is the most exciting development," he said. "That signals that there is an effort to reign in the legal authority and sovereignty that landlords and financiers have gathered over the last 40 years and start to turn some of that back over to the people who actually live in the cities who are renting here.”
The bill said this board would "develop and implement rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance."
Delegate Clark said he and his colleagues have worked on this bill for the past three years. It currently sits in a House subcommittee.
“With some of these ridiculous rent prices, we want to make sure we have affordable housing and affordable rent prices," Clark said.
Fella said if this bill becomes law, it would bring much-needed reform to rentals across the state. He said the availability of affordable housing is a long-standing concern.
“If you’re someone paying rent in Virginia right now, this is a bill to keep your eye on," Fella said. “I think it represents a major step forward for housing affordability beyond the build more mindset which has really failed us for the past 40 years when it comes to actually creating affordable housing.”