Tonight the St. Paul City Council is set to hear recommendations from the Rent Stabilization Working Group as it decides whether or not to pass an ordinance that would restrict and introduce certain practices for landlords and tenants.
Supporters shared before the meeting that there are two recommendations they hope the council implements, a 3% annual cap on rent increases and a just cause ordinance, according to Tram Hoang.
Hoang is the Director of Policy and Research at the Housing Justice Center, and she says cities across the country have passed just cause ordinances.
“It is a policy that requires property owners to name a just cause for not renewing the lease of a tenant or for evicting a tenant,” Hoang said.
Without a just cause policy in place a landlord does not need a reasonable cause to evict a tenant, and some have said that this is too much power.
Katheryn Schneider, a landlord in the city’s North End neighborhood, shared that with rent at an all-time high, it will only get worse if the ordinance isn’t passed.
“For long, too long, we have given protection to property owners and left renters to fend for themselves,” Schneider said.
The St. Paul City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the ordinance and hear the recommendations.
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