Last spring, the Prince George’s County Council passed emergency legislation capping rent hikes at 3%, in part moved by complaints from seniors and other residents that some apartment complexes were increasing rents by hundreds of dollars per month.
In some cases, the rent hikes were increasing faster than Social Security and other forms of income. In the immediate aftermath, there were reports of some apartment complexes trying to impose other new fees that aimed to get around the actual rent, while others began looking for other loopholes.
There are some exceptions that allow landlords to exceed the 3% cap hike. But there’s also suspicion that some are just ignoring the new law.
One of those raising suspicions is Yvonne Corney, who lives in Marwood Senior Apartments in Upper Marlboro. Earlier this year, some of her neighbors in the building told WTOP they had to sign new leases that were hundreds of dollars more per month, but ultimately, those were allowed since those particular leases — as unaffordable as they were for some of them — were renewed before the county’s new law took effect.
But Corney’s two-year lease is up in October, and she said the projected rent increase given to her earlier this summer was over $250 more per month — a roughly 25% hike.
Council member Krystal Oriadha, who has led what she calls rent stabilization efforts — and what critics call rent control — isn’t surprised.
“I have been hearing some complaints, specifically from some senior housing facilities … still, we’ve capped it at 3%,” said Oriadha.
In some cases, apartment complexes might be reading the law wrong, or they might even be in the right. That’s because most newer apartment buildings are exempt from the caps, as are units occupied by residents receiving housing subsidies from the federal government.
Marwood is among those complexes with some federally subsidized housing. Other units are market rate, and others are classified as affordable or get a tax credit. Oriadha said apartments need to go unit by unit in determining which apartments can have their rent increased by 3%.
“That’s why it’s so important that they don’t just decide on their own, that all their units are exempt, but follow the process that we put forth, so that they’re not breaking the law,” said Oriadha.
In Corney’s case, she said after raising the issue with Conifer Realty LLC, the owner of Marwood Senior Apartments, she was told the initial rent hike was on hold and under evaluation. Nothing has been put in writing, though, and she’s not sure what her new rent will be.
“I don’t plan on going anywhere. And I plan on fighting until it’s over,” said Corney. “My whole thing — I’m not just fighting for me, I’m fighting for all of us.”
She said there’s no way she’ll renew any lease that comes with an increase of more than 3%. Landlords who try to ignore the new law face fines of up to $500 per unit for the first violation, with the fines increasing to $1,000 subsequently.
WTOP has reached out to Conifer Realty for comment, but has not gotten a response. A reporter also knocked on the rental office as employees were gathered inside. Upon seeing it was a reporter at the door, they moved out of view and did not unlock the door.
In the meantime, Oriadha is also chairing a work group put together by the county council to look for more long term-solutions to help address the soaring cost of housing. She warned that the more landlords who try to get around the temporary cap in place, the more it’s likely to upset the members of the work group.
“They’re hurting their cause long-term because we’re having the conversation about permanent rent stabilization,” said Oriadha. “The more bad actors that we see taking advantage of residents, the more likely we are to make it stricter and not have as many exemptions because then we’re seeing that if we create this space for them to do the right thing, they’re not going to do it on their own.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to plead with them to understand,” she added. “Follow the law at the 3% cap. Wait until we have this conversation about permanent rent stabilization and then we can roll something out that can look at all the factors that they want us to take into consideration. But if you do things like this, it makes it harder for us to then trust you to do the right thing.”
