Councilmembers Izola Shaw and David Myles gathered outside Rockville City Hall today among advocates from Progressive Maryland, CASA, Rockville Renters United, Huntington Tenant Association, Reed Tenant Association, and other housing advocates to present a new rent stabilization framework.
The new Housing C.A.R.E. rent stabilization proposal would cap rent increases, eliminate junk fees, provide reasonable exemptions from coverage, create a fair petition process to confront rent increases, and establish strong enforcement mechanisms for Rockville residents.
Addressing the crowd, Shaw said, “About half of Rockville residents rent their homes. Over half of city renters spend 30% or more on rent. Bottom line: tens of thousands of Rockville renters are struggling to make ends meet.”
County Rent Caps Don’t Apply in Rockville
Montgomery County rent stabilization will cap at 5.7% starting July 1, down from the 6% cap from 2024. However, the county stabilization program does not apply to Rockville, since the city has its own housing authority. Last summer, Rockville mayor Monique Ashton, alongside a Council majority, voted to halt all discussions of rent stabilization during the affordable housing work session. Shaw and Myles were the only Council members to support the discussions.
“Montgomery County was able to do rent stabilization,” said Councilmember Myles. “Our neighboring county of Prince George’s County voted for rent stabilization … the next question to ask is, ‘can we do it?’ and the answer is yes.”
Tenants’ Association Weighs In
Grant Samms, leader of the Reed Tenant Association, acknowledged evictions due to failure to pay more than doubled in Rockville from 2023 to 2024, according to state eviction case data.
“I met a mother who told me she had been priced out of her apartment for three consecutive years. The worst part is that her son went to a new school [every year],” he said.
He also stated, “Our city is seeing sales of apartment buildings from smaller local developers to Wall Street-traded corporations, private equity groups, and speculative real estate investors.” Later, he included that “A super PAC of corporate landlords and developers donated more than $20,000 to send out mailers endorsing four candidates. And all four candidates are seated on the Council today.”
County Council VP Jawando Points out Perils of School Disruption
Councilmember Will Jawando also appeared in support of the proposal, building upon Samms’ point that constant relocation proves disruptive to childhood social development. “When you move a child from their home, and they have to move schools, and you ask a teacher, you ask an MCPS teacher — we have 160,000 students — what’s the most disruptive thing to learning, they’re going to tell you: student mobility. And people move because they can’t afford the cost of rent,” he said.
Special Ed Teacher Works Two Jobs to Pay the Rent
Closing out the rally was a special education teacher, who explained that rent increases impact teachers just as much as students. Burdened by a $500 rent increase, she found a second job to fund the out-of-pocket expenses of teaching. “I needed to find a second job to afford such things as rent, food, and supplies for my [students] that come out of my own pocket. A lot of young teachers I know are also struggling with the idea of having two jobs and working 70 hours a week,” she said. “I’d like to urge the councilmembers to support rent stabilization… people are struggling. [Councilmembers] took an oath to protect and serve the people, and they’re not doing that when they’re not passing rent stabilization.”
The proposal would create a meaningful set of steps to organize, discuss and implement rent stabilization, working with the City government and the Rockville community.
