Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday that he will veto a city work group recommended rent control policy if it reaches his desk under the current form.
"It's not happening," Frey said.
The strong opposition comes a day after a 25-person working group of landlords and tenants voted to cap rent increases at 3% annually with limited exceptions.
Frey indicated he’s “open minded” to a less stringent policy, although he did not provide specifics on what that would need to look like. As of Wednesday he had not reviewed a secondary policy that the work group considered – and a majority of landlords and developers fought for – but ultimately did not approve.
That plan will still be sent to the City Council for review, which would cap rent hikes at between 5 and 7% annually, and contains several exemptions for inflation, affordable housing and other items intended to give landlords more flexibility.
Still it could be an uphill climb for rent control advocates. Frey has previously opposed a policy, including in 2021 when he vetoed a City Council action, and he made it abundantly clear to reporters Wednesday the current recommended policy would need to be changed significantly. A supermajority would be needed to override a mayoral veto. That requires nine votes.
"We've got to be listening to data and we've got to be listening to experts,” Frey said. “And experts from the far left to the far right have nearly universally stated that policies like the one that was put forward do not work and are actually counterproductive to the state of things."
The recommendation is now headed to the City Council, where changes could be made. A majority of the members would be required to put a on the November 2023 ballot.