Rent Stabilization FAQ

Rent stabilization is about keeping Providence livable for the people who call it home. 

Providence’s rent stabilization proposal brings Providence families the stability they urgently need while balancing a fair rate of return for property owners.

In 2025, Providence was ranked the least affordable metro area for renters in the country. Providence has the fastest rent growth in the country, even while the national median rent decreased. The median rent in Providence is 40% higher today than it was in 2020. Nearly half of all renters in our city spend more than 30% of their income on rent—economists call that cost burdened, and it’s unsustainable. 

The Providence rental market is hot. And why shouldn’t it be – Providence is an incredible place to live. But larger and corporate landlords are taking advantage of the demand to raise rents sky high – price-gouging beyond the cost of maintaining a building to squeeze renters for every dollar they can. Steep rent increases pull the rug out from under renters and their families, forcing people out of their homes and out of our city. It has to stop. 

The proposed rent stabilization ordinance limits year-to-year rent increases to up to 4%, with exceptions for major improvements to the building or significant tax increases. It gives renters the ability to plan for themselves and their families while ensuring property owners have what they need to maintain and invest in their properties. 

No single policy will end Providence’s housing crisis—it’s a key part of a much bigger picture. 

The Councilors advocating for rent stabilization see the policy as one part of a three-part strategy: 1. Increase the supply of housing for everyone, 2. protect the existing housing stock, 3. Stabilize rent.  

1. Increase Supply 

This term, the Providence City Council has taken big steps to increase the amount of housing available at every price point, especially homes affordable for working families: 

• Invested $55 million in the Affordable Housing Trust, resulting in hundreds of new deeply affordable apartments on the market or in development.   
• Updated the rules guiding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, ensuring that public investments go where they are needed most – deeply affordable development.  
• Overhauled Providence’s Comprehensive Plan and zoning rules to increase housing density, allow for Accessory Dwelling Units, and promote the highest density housing along transit corridors. 
• Incentivized development through tax stabilization agreement (TSA) ordinances on large-scale projects. TSAs promote development by allowing a property’s tax liability to ramp up slowly over a period of time while the developer recoups project costs. 
• Councilors are working on an incentive for the conversion of commercial space to residential. There is unused office space downtown that could be apartments, but the cost to convert is too high. This proposal will help jump-start housing production downtown. 
• Councilors are working with Mayor Smiley to advocate at the State House for a new $25 million housing bond for Providence.  

2. Protect our Housing Stock  

The City Council has invested significantly in the housing we have now, so that people living here have safe places to call home.

• Every year, the City Council allocates money to Providence’s home repair program and the lead safe loan program. These programs offer deferred interest forgivable loans that help residents maintain their properties. 
• City Council made an additional $3 million investment in the home repair loan fund with American Rescue Plan Act dollars.   
• Councilors regularly advocate on behalf of renters in their wards to fix code violations that endanger people and their families.    

3. Stabilize rents

Building our way out of the housing crisis will take time. Providence families cannot wait.   

Right now, in Providence, it takes someone a lot of time, effort, and more than a little luck to find an apartment they can afford. But in a year’s time, that luck can run out if property owners increase rent beyond their tenant’s means.   

The City Council banned the use of rent-setting algorithms that have been proven to artificially increase rent prices. Providence residents need more help. 

People who have lived in Providence for generations are being forced from their homes and from our city because rent is going up faster than their income. Right now, rent increases are too often eviction notices in another name—pushing families out of their homes with little notice and no options. Rent stabilization will give Providence residents the breathing room they need to plan and save for housing cost increases they can predict and afford. 

At the same time, the policies outlined above will create more housing in Providence, bringing rent prices down over time. 

The proposed ordinance will stabilize rent for people living in buildings of more than 3 units and in buildings owned by corporations or entities that own many properties. 

The following types of properties are exempted from the proposal:   

• Small owner-occupied buildings (1–3 units), typically duplexes or triples deckers where the owner lives in one unit and rents out the others 
• If someone owns two properties—each under 3 units—lives in one of them, and rents the other out, both are exempt. The second, non-owner occupied property must be owned by the same person (not a corporation), and the owner must not own any additional rental properties beyond these two
• New construction is exempt for 15 years from initial occupancy, including currently existing buildings 
• Transitional or supportive housing operated by a non-profit
• Housing already subject to government rent regulation, including public or subsidized housing 
• Cooperative housing 
• Institutional or service-based housing, including medical, educational, religious, or similar facilities 
• Hotels, motels, and other transient or short-term lodging   
• Employee-provided housing tied to on-site maintenance or building services  
• Fraternal or social organization housing occupied by members  
• Commercial and other non-residential properties  
• Diplomatic residences  
• Units temporarily rented during a limited owner absence, subject to Rent Board rules  

The ordinance stabilizes the rent where stability is most needed – buildings owned by large corporations and entities that own many rental properties.   

Home ownership is a core part of the American dream. It’s an investment in our neighborhoods and our city. In Providence, owning a triple-decker and passing it on to the next generation is a dream for many parents.   

Home ownership was accessible to previous generations in ways that it is unfortunately not today. And still, families are rooted in our neighborhoods—oftentimes buying homes down the street from where they grew up.

People who live on one floor and rent the others, or who might own a single inherited property in addition to the home where they live, typically want stable tenants. To keep them long-term and have a positive relationship with their housemates or neighbors, they’ll typically keep housing costs stable, increasing them only when necessary to cover costs.

The proposed ordinance takes into account the experiences of renters and homeowners. Councilors advocating for rent stabilization often hear from constituents that owner-occupants are already operating under the framework envisioned in the rent stabilization ordinance. That’s why the ordinance focuses on corporate owned buildings, which are too often treated as commodities to be flipped to the highest bidder rather than what they are: places where families put down roots and build their lives.

This is a simple system: standard increases are automatic; property owners have a straightforward process to petition the newly created Rent Board for exceptions if necessary. 

The rent stabilization proposal is straightforward, complaint-based, and does not create onerous annual regulatory burdens on property owners. Annually, property owners can increase rent up to 4% above last year’s rent without any paperwork or reporting. There is no annual reporting requirement.  

The ordinance creates a staffed five-member Rent Board, and outlines circumstances in which a property owner may petition the board for permission to raise rent by more than 4%, or when a tenant may contest it. In normal circumstances, the board is required to respond with a decision within 90 days.

In a reasonably well-maintained building, property owners may never need to use the process outlined in the ordinance. But of course, lead needs to be remediated, boilers fail, roofs leak, things happen. If and when property owners need to seek an exception, the proposed law provides the flexibility they need to maintain their buildings while maintaining stability for tenants.  

The law provides clear, fair ways for landlords to adjust rents responsibly if necessary. 

The proposed ordinance provides for several situations in which the costs of owning and maintaining a property may necessitate rent increases above 4% and empowers the newly established Rent Board and its director to adopt and maintain rules and procedures for those, accessible to property owners and tenants.    

1. Tax increases: If a property owner’s total property tax bill goes up by more than 5% compared to the prior year, the ordinance allows the owner to automatically pass half of that extra cost on to tenants using a simple formula.  

 This is the only case where a property owner can increase rent by more than 4% without petitioning the rent board. This adjustment is added on top of the standard annual rent increase, but it is based only on the actual dollar increase in the property tax bill, not on the tax rate and not on applying any percentage increase to rent beyond the standard increase. 

Step by Step:  

1. Compare last year’s property tax bill to this year’s bill. 
2. Set aside the first 5% increase, which the landlord must absorb. 
3. Identify the dollar amount above the 5% threshold. 
4. The landlord may pass on only half of that dollar amount. 
5. That amount is then divided by 12 months and by the number of rental units in the building. 
6. The resulting figure is the monthly rent increase per unit attributable to the tax increase and can be added on top of the 4% standard increase.

A hypothetical example: 

• Last year’s tax bill: $5,000  
• This year’s tax bill: $5,600
• That’s an increase of $600 total. 
• A 5% increase would have been $250.
• The amount above 5% is $350.
• The landlord may pass on half of $350, which is $175.
• If the building has 3 apartments:
  • $175 ÷ 12 months = $14.48 per month
  • $14.48 ÷ 3 units = $4.86 per month per unit  
• So, each tenant’s rent could increase by $4.86 per month due to the tax increase. 

2. All other cases: The goal of the ordinance is to ensure that property owners have a straightforward process to get what they need to maintain their property and achieve a fair rate of return. 

A landlord might need to increase rent by more than 4% a year if they are making major necessary repairs or improvements. To do so, they will file a written petition to the Rent Board that justifies the increase, provides proof of the costs, and demonstrates that the increase is necessary to achieve or maintain a fair return. The Rent Board must respond to the petition in a reasonable time frame.   

Under the ordinance, a property owner may not increase rent by more than 10% in any single year, except in extraordinary circumstances determined by the Rent Board.   

The Executive Director of the Rent Board will likely handle routine petitions and convene the full board for more complex issues.  

New construction is exempt so we can keep building the housing Providence needs.  

The exemption on new construction supports a robust construction environment.  

Building new housing is expensive. Long before a single shovel goes into the ground, the project owner has to make a case to investors and lenders that their project will successfully recoup the costs of building the building. By exempting new construction from rent stabilization for 15 years, the project owner can make that case and build in the appropriate return on investment to fund the next development. 

Other cities have shown that rent stabilization and new development can coexist. In 2020, Portland, Maine adopted one of the strongest rent stabilization policies in the country. Despite warnings from the corporate real estate lobby, the city saw an increase in the number of units approved for development between 2020 and 2021. This doesn’t mean rent stabilization creates new housing on its own—but it does show that when the development ecosystem is healthy, construction continues. 

The proposed ordinance stabilizes rents without impacting future development. The housing crisis won’t be solved with just one approach, but by initiating multiple policy solutions that address cost, supply, and maintenance, we can create a Providence where all of our families can thrive as we keep building and growing. 

The Rent Board operates through a simple, complaint-based system that avoids unnecessary red tape. 

The ordinance envisions proactive tenant education and complaint-based enforcement. A tenant, individually or together with their neighbors, can file a complaint with the Rent Board if they believe the owner of their home is violating the ordinance, for example, by charging more than the 4% annual cap without legitimate cause and authorization. It is complaint-based, rather than verifying every single property in the city every single year, so that bureaucracy doesn’t slow things down. No backlogs, no huge office, just clear rules and processes for necessary situations.  

The Rent Board must respond to the tenant and landlord in a reasonable timeframe. The staff of the Rent Board will handle the majority of routine complaints and petitions. The Rent Board can conduct a hearing in more complex cases. Tenants and property owners can appeal the decision.  

The Rent Board will leverage the City’s existing fine structure, and will have the authority to rule on damages, repayments to tenants, and other remedies.  

The first job of the Rent Board and Executive Director will be to engage in a public rule-making process that includes establishing set remedies for violations of the ordinance. The Rent Board can impose damages and financial remedies, and the City can impose fines of $100 to $500 per violation per day (pending the Rent Board’s rules).  

The proposed ordinance outlines two special cases: providing false documents to the Rent Board and retaliating against a tenant for pursuing their rights under the ordinance, for which a fine of at least $250 per day is imposed.  

Rent increases are still capped at 4% even when a tenant moves. 

No. Rent remains stabilized when an apartment turns over. Property owners can increase rent by up to 4% at the next scheduled annual increase. The broad goal of the ordinance is to create stability in rental costs while ensuring that property owners can achieve a fair rate of return. If upgrades and costly maintenance are required, the ordinance encourages landlords to take advantage of the Rent Board petition and make the improvements while tenants are renting, rather than deferring maintenance.  

Stabilization policies are effective when they create stability for everyone. By keeping covered apartments and homes accountable to a 4% cap on rent increases, even when the renter changes apartments, we can end a cycle of price gouging and displacement that impacts people looking for apartments just as it does people currently in them.

Safe, well-maintained homes are non-negotiable under this ordinance. Property owners will be able to recoup costs of larger required maintenance expenses and achieve a fair rate of return.  

Rent stabilization is a term that can mean many things. The policy before City Council is a specific, thoroughly researched proposal that takes into account Providence’s aging housing stock and the associated maintenance costs.  

Property owners have a straightforward path to petition the Rent Board for permission to increase rent above the 4% annual cap to cover significant maintenance or unforeseen costs.  

Regular maintenance is always required. Safe, well-maintained housing a baseline expectation. A petition to increase rent above the 4% annual cap will not be considered if the property is not otherwise up to code. This incentivizes property owners to keep a regular maintenance schedule so that, if the unexpected occurs, they will be able to seek an exemption.

We studied what works, avoided what doesn’t, and built a policy designed for Providence’s housing market. 

Every rent stabilization ordinance is different. The policy proposed by President Miller and her co-authors has been crafted with Providence’s unique environment in mind. It has been vetted by local and national policy experts. It takes into account lessons learned by other cities and towns across the country in advancing rent stabilization laws. Where we’ve seen approaches be very successful, we added them into our ordinance. Where we’ve seen unintended consequences, we’ve left those pieces behind. 

What emerges from the work is an ordinance that will stabilize rents for residents renting in investment properties, which have largely driven out-of-control rent increases. At the same time, the city continues to invest in strategies to increase housing and create options for residents who need help. Providence can increase housing supply while stabilizing rent. City residents are depending on it. 

The evidence is clear. Rent stabilization does not decrease housing production. 

The corporations that profit from soaring rents try to convince people that even the promise of rent stabilization slows production. But the reality is, many other factors influence production of new housing more than regulation policies.   

Realtors and developers here in Providence often bring up St. Paul, Minnesota—a city that passed rent stabilization in 2021 and has amended it since—and Minneapolis, St. Paul’s Twin City that focused on zoning reforms and has not yet introduced rent stabilization. Residential permits plunged in St. Paul and surged in Minneapolis.

But correlation does not equal causation. As Tram Hoang and Amee Chew at PolicyLink write and reference in a July 2025 report, “In general, other factors—including overall market conditions and zoning—have far more influence over new housing supply than the presence of rent regulations.” 

The real tale of Twin Cities should be St. Paul and Portland, ME. Portland passed the country’s strongest rent stabilization law in 2020; it went into effect in 2021. Portland experienced an increase in the number of units approved for development from 2020 to 2021.  

Providence has the 4th hottest market in the country. The City Council led the way on a forward-thinking zoning overhaul that reduced single-family zones and increased density. The Council is making big investments in developments through the Affordable Housing Trust and incentive packages.

Providence is doing everything right to bring the housing crisis under control– except providing stability for renters. It’s time.

A flat 4% cap keeps the system simple, stable, and easy to plan around. 

Four percent accounts for the regular inflationary costs of a healthy housing market, is easy to predict and understand, and is a modest enough increase that a tenant can plan and account for it over the course of several months. 

Unlike a cap tied to each year’s rate of inflation, it doesn’t require action from the Rent Board to set and communicate allowable rent increases. A simpler system is more stable and predictable. 

It doesn’t require more than the calculator on your phone to know how much you can charge for rent or what your rent might be.  

By focusing on larger properties and investment properties, this proposal creates stability in the section of the market prone to very high rent increases. Other apartments, such as newly constructed units that are exempt from the rent stabilization policy until they have had a certificate of occupancy for 15 years, will compete with stabilized units. If there are excessive rent increases in those buildings, those apartments will not be competitive with the broader environment.

Rent stabilization policies limit how much your rent can increase year to year. While rent stabilization alone will not lower rent, it will create some breathing room and stability for Providence families while the other policies enacted by the City and State encourage, incentivize, and directly build more housing. Rent stabilization is an important piece of the strategy to limit the negative impacts of the housing crisis. It will take multiple policies together to end the crisis.  

Renters who bring a complaint to the Rent Board are protected by state law and have explicit protections and remedies in the proposed ordinance.  

The enforcement mechanisms in the ordinance are complaint-based. This enables the ordinance to go into effect without a big budget that would be necessary if it created a proactive enforcement apparatus. 

But, because enforcement of the ordinance is complaint-based, it is especially important to ensure that renters are protected from retaliation. The proposal does this by referring to state law, outlining specific behaviors that would constitute retaliation (ranging from reducing services to direct harassment, lease nonrenewal, and beyond), and imposing strict fines and penalties if property owners are found to be engaging in retaliatory behavior.  

In doing so, the proposal protects tenants advocating for their rights and incentivizes compliance from landlords who can avoid being accused of retaliatory behavior by ensuring they maintain adherence to the annual 4% cap outlined in the ordinance.  

Well, it turns out it depends on who you ask. Rent stabilization and rent control are terms with many different meanings—applied differently in different cities and different situations. What matters here is what this particular policy does for Providence. This ordinance offers: 

• Stable and predictable rent costs for Providence families.
• A healthy housing market where property owners can achieve a reasonable rate of return.  
• A flexible policy that achieves both. 

Whatever terms you choose to use, this policy will bring stability to Providence’s rental market and Providence families. It is a positive, urgently needed measure for our city.