Low-income residents in Prince George’s County will soon get relief from rising rents under an initiative approved unanimously on Tuesday by the county council.
Residents whose income is equivalent to or less than 60 percent of the area median income will be eligible for assistance. The Prince George’s Rental Assistance Fund will disburse up to six months of monthly relief over the course of two years.
Awards are limited to a maximum monthly amount equal to no more than 20 percent of a tenant’s monthly rent. Residents who have had rent increases of 15 percent each year throughout 2023 will be given priority for assistance during fiscal 2024. Only one tenant per rental unit will be eligible for assistance.
Tenants living in short-term rental properties are ineligible for the program.
The fund is “part of [the] conversation” for how to address skyrocketing rent prices, council member Krystal Oriadha (District 7) said.
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Oriadha has been at the forefront of bills centered on affordable housing. The freshman council member, who espouses left-leaning principles, was the lead sponsor on legislation such as the universal income pilot program and temporary rent stabilization.
The temporary rent stabilization bill was implemented to help “stop the bleeding” of residents swamped with rent increases, but it didn’t take effect until Monday, leaving many residents still struggling to meet their housing needs, she said.
Nearly 4 in 10 county residents are renters, according to census data, and they are predominantly Black and Hispanic. The new program comes after temporary caps on rent increases and moratoriums on evictions have long since expired, and other pandemic-era aid programs are winding down.
About nine people addressed the county council on Tuesday, with the majority in favor. One landlord talked about the complexities that come with having tenants.
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Heather Murphy, a renter in District Heights, told the council that the rent for her studio apartment was increased to $1,260, which was 7 percent higher than what she had been paying.
Being a single mother on short-term disability as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have decreased has left her with few options, she said.
“The Rent Stabilization Act was something I was hoping would help me,” Murphy said. “Unfortunately, since that did not go into effect until the 17th, the landlord of course went ahead and increased the rent anyway. So now my son and I are looking at facing homelessness because there’s no assistance of any kind.”
Murphy is one of the many residents who need help after being set back by expensive medical or utility bills, car repairs or an unexpected funeral for a family member, according to Mary Hunter, director of housing counseling at the Housing Initiative Partnership, a private affordable housing developer.
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“The proposed rental assistance program is an important step in helping low- and moderate-income families weather these life events and avoid entering the destructive eviction cycle that we know creates a ripple effect of harm for not only the family, but for the wider community,” Hunter told the council.
Francis Elsen, a landlord who has five detached single-family homes in Bowie, said his properties were reassessed, which means his taxes went up.
“If I try to raise the rents $120 month, what [are] the people in the council and all the people in the newspapers and everything going to say?” he said during the meeting. “I’m just saying sometimes there’s forces at work, which are kind of beyond a landlord’s control. I wish you somehow take that into account in your programs.”
Sydney J. Harrison (D-District 9) said neighboring jurisdictions have put more money in their housing trusts than Prince George’s, which has $4.65 billion.
“The way we create revenue for this county to pay for services is different than any other jurisdiction,” he said, adding that the majority of the county’s budget goes to education, public safety and storm water management. “We can all admit that the funds that we have are very, very limited.”
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