Howard County urgently needs your help! For months, Howard County Rent Stabilization Coalition has been pushing for legislation that limits allowable rent increases, as there is no legal limit in Howard County. People renting in the County have been experiencing up to 50% rent increases (ex. someone's rent is $2000/month and they are asked to pay $3000/month going forward), but even increases of 5-10% are unaffordable and burdensome for many. As rent keeps climbing at unprecedented rates, renters are struggling to keep up with bills and have to work 3 jobs to meet basic needs or even become homeless or displaced.

A bill was introduced in October to address this, but it desperately needed amendments. Our Coalition was working with Councilmembers to address the bill's weaknesses through amendments, but on January 2nd, something terrible happened. A vote on whether to make the the bill (CB-44) a law was supposed to be pushed out another month to allow for more work to be done to make it stronger. However, the absence of one council member meant that the vote to push it out was a tie. The result is that the bill will now expire if no action is taken before January 15th. A single procedural setback puts protections in jeopardy that renters urgently need.

Luckily the fight is not yet over, but we need your help. Councilmembers Christiana Rigby, Liz Walsh and Deb Jung, have all expressed their support for a strong rent stabilization bill and can still introduce and pass rent stabilization as an emergency bill. Please use this form to send all of the County Council and County Executive Calvin Ball an email expressing your strong support for them to act with urgency and introduce a strong rent stabilization bill that will help make living in Howard County affordable for the hardworking individuals and families that live and work here.