Rent stabilization policy in MoCo has its role to play — but only if it’s done carefully

Rents are soaring across the country, including locally, and while not all increases are so dramatic, some are rising by double-digit percentages, 16, 17, 25, even as high as 50%, forcing tenants to choose between a squeezed budget and a relocation that is hardly cost-free itself. Solutions to this issue remain complicated and contentious. Allowing more housing would indeed help. Providing more competition from more homes lessens the leverage landlords have over prospective tenants, and thus, their ability to increase rents as dramatically as we see now.