Minneapolis rent stabilization group votes to recommend 3% cap on rent increases
[anvplayer video=”5152461″ station=”998122″]
The city of Minneapolis could become one step closer to rent stabilization this week.
A 25-person group of renters, property owners, developers and agency representatives picked by Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis City Council back in April officially voted Tuesday to send its recommendation to the council.
At Tuesday’s Housing/Rent Stabilization Work Group meeting, 56% of the group voted to recommend a policy that caps rent at 3% increases with no exemptions. Now, it’ll be up to the city council to determine what to do with that recommendation.
Group members have all been working to study the issue and come up with solutions for the city’s renting population after voters gave the go-ahead for a rent control ordinance in November of last year.
A 25-person group of renters, property owners, developers and agency representatives picked by Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis City Council in April voted on the framework for their rent control plan Tuesday.
According to recent numbers cited by realtor.com, the median rent in Minneapolis costs a little more than $1,500, which is up nearly 3% from 2021.
Over the last few months, Minneapolis’ work group has been analyzing the effects of rent control and the costs that could come with a new policy.
RELATED: State lawmakers debate future of Twin Cities rent regulations
In September, they told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS their report is required to include recommendations on how to protect tenants from displacement and hold landlords accountable, which citizens are expected to learn more about once the report is submitted.
“This policy is meant to protect renters, and specifically renters who are in crisis in our city, black and brown folks specifically are hit by the renter crisis, and this means housing instability, it means hard situations for families,” said Jennifer Arnold with United Renters for Justice.
After Tuesday’s vote, Arnold shared the following statement:
“Our group was tasked to recommend a policy for the Council. Today, the consensus of the working group was for a 3% policy with no exemptions,” Arnold said. “In the group supporting the strong policy were affordable housing developers, small landlords, renters and even a realtor. This group represents our city and our stakeholders. We did the process and want to remind the Council that the people of Minneapolis are waiting. We voted in support of the policy in 2022. We came together in the process they designed, with the people they appointed. Now it’s time for the city to enact this policy to protect renters in the city.”
The Minnesota Multi Housing Association offered the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
“The Minneapolis Rent Stabilization Work Group concluded their deliberations today. The preferred policy framework largely replicates the original adopted policy by St. Paul voters in 2021. A majority of the work group appears to have disregarded that policy’s abject failure and significant damage to the St. Paul housing market. The state needs nearly 95,000 more housing units immediately and this framework will only obstruct critical new investments in housing. We expect and urge the Minneapolis City Council to reject this damaging framework and pivot from rent control toward solutions that truly assist cost-burdened households in the City.”