Final approval from the St. Paul City Council on sweeping changes to the city's rent stabilization ordinance was delayed one week after the council passed a compromise amendment Wednesday.
The new amendment addressed concerns from Mayor Melvin Carter and housing advocates about “full vacancy decontrol,” a policy that would have allowed landlords to raise rent by any amount when the property is unoccupied. It was included in the most recent batch of amendments that a split city council approved by a 4-3 vote during a Sept. 7 council meeting.
The newly proposed amendment would place a cap on the increase landlords can make to eight percent on top of inflation. It passed the council 7-0.
“Folks were concerned we were giving (landlords) a blank check with an untethered vacancy decontrol,” said council president Amy Brendmoen, who approved a full vacancy decontrol policy a week earlier.
Local housing coalitions pushed back aggressively to the potential of a full vacancy decontrol policy, which they said would go against the spirit of rent stabilization by incentivizing landlords to force existing renters out of the property in order to raise rent. Members of ISAIAH and the Service Employees International Union urged Carter to veto the policy if it remained part of the ordinance and Carter reached out to council to urge them to make changes.
“The uproar from all of you about how we continue to go further away from fighting for renters and protection from them was really made loud and clear,” said councilmember Nelsie Yang, who voted against the full vacancy decontrol originally. “I feel that’s why I’m seeing this amendment in front of me, and I want to say thank you.”
A public hearing on the new amendment is scheduled for Sept. 21 and the city council expects to vote on the entire list of amendments right afterwards. The master amendment, authored by councilmember Chris Tolbert, includes a 20-year exemption from rent control for new housing along with several other amendments. It is expected to pass.
“Today’s vote reflects the will of our voters and the recommendations we received from the stakeholder group this summer,” Carter said in a statement. “I look forward to signing this ordinance as currently drafted.”