SCOTT McCAFFREY
Staff Writer
Members of the Arlington County government’s Housing Commission have opted to hold off and await political developments at the state level before considering proposals that Virginia localities be empowered to impose rent-control measures on landlords.
Well, technically not “rent control,” but “rent stabilization” – a slightly more watered-down incarnation that gives local governments the power to regulate the amount of rent increases but not set absolute caps on what landlords can charge.
A subcommittee of the Housing Commission, tasked with vetting proposals for recommendation to the Arlington County Board, opted against proposing to move forward. The full commission did not add it to a list of proposals being made to the County Board in advance of the 2025 General Assembly session.
Housing Commission Chair Kellen MacBeth said the subcommittee was divided, but the end result was a belief that, with a Republican as governor, there was little point in moving forward in 2025.
(Democrats are hopeful of regaining the governorship in the November 2025 election.)
MacBeth did say the county government might consider doing a study of rent-stabilization pros and cons, to be ready in case the opportunity presents itself due to a changing political environment. The commission is likely to revisit the idea at its October meeting.
Since as far back as colonial times, Virginia has been a heavily pro-property-owner state, and permitting local control over rents would be a marked departure. It also likely would face fierce opposition from many quarters, starting with landlords themselves.
Rent-control and rent-stabilization measures tend to be the exception rather than the rule in localities across the country. Many states have banned them outright, while a few have embraced them either statewide or as a local option.
The city of Takoma Park, Md., has had versions of rent-stabilization programs in place for more than 40 years. The city’s current rules cover those who rent apartments and condominiums, but not single-family houses, accessory-dwelling units and some duplexes.
Under the rules, landlords generally are prohibited from increasing rents more than the amount set by the city government. Between July 2024 and June 2025, that increase is 4.34 percent.
Arguments for and against rent-control and rent-stabilization measures have been honed to sharp points through the years. Supporters of more government control over rents contend it makes housing more affordable; opponents say it will make property owners more likely to do something else with the property, exacerbating housing accessibility and, by extension, affordability.
A proposal made in early July by the Biden administration to cap rent increases at 5 percent per year on many rental properties nationally was largely laughed off as a political stunt from a president desperately trying to find supporters in his quest to retain the Democratic nomination for re-election. Biden abandoned his re-election bid less than a week later.
“Rent control in any form is bad for housing,” said Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. He said the Biden proposal would “worsen the housing-affordability crisis by discouraging developers from building new rental-housing units at a time when the nation is experiencing a shortfall of 1.5 million.”
The median rental rate for apartments in the Washington region in August was $2,203, according to a monthly analysis by Apartment List. Of the 31 sectors within the D.C. region, the lowest median rental price was found in Mount Rainier, Md., at $1,509, and the highest in Tysons at $2,666, according to the Apartment List report.
Nationally, the median apartment-rental rate in August was $1,412. Among the 100 largest urban areas tracked by Apartment List, rates varied from $992 in Wichita, Kan., to $3,009 in Irvine, Calif.
