The 6 cities and states trying to stop landlords from jacking up rent prices

New Boston Mayor Michelle Wu campaigned on bringing rent control back to the city, and a poll shows that a majority of Bostonians support the move.

Local rent controls were banned almost 30 years ago in a statewide referendum, however. State Democrats are currently advancing a bill that would repeal it, although the state's Republican governor said he is unlikely to sign off on such a law, which would give cities like Boston the option to implement rent control.

"Cities across the country use rent stabilization as one tool among many to protect tenants and keep families in their homes," Wu said last week, after launching a Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee. "The majority of Boston residents and families are renters. If we aren't willing to take on the rent increases that are driving families out of Boston, then we aren't meeting the needs of our neighborhoods.

State House Representative Andrew Boesenecker co-sponsored a bill to limit mobile-home lot rent increases by either 3%, or by the local inflation rate in a given year, whichever of the two is higher.

"For mobile home park residents, there's no relief valve," Boesenecker said, saying residents are often "handcuffed" to land they don't own. That's because residents of mobile-home lots may own the homes themselves, but can't necessarily afford to transport them. There are few other affordable options, meaning they're stuck on the property.

Sponsors say that it's a response to the influx of wealthy investors buying mobile home parks and greatly increasing rents, CPR News reported.

The bill also proposes substantial changes to Colorado's "opportunity to purchase" law, which allows mobile community renters a chance to bid on their homes if they're put on the market. The proposed change is meant to give residents more time and money to compete with other buyers.

In Florida, lawmakers in Miami and Tampa have considered declaring housing emergencies to pass rent control, as rents in the state have risen as much as 30% in the past year.

2022 marks the third year in a row that Florida State Senator Victor Torres has filed a bill that would give rent control power to local governments, although he has said that it has gotten no traction.

"We need compromise and we need to have these landlords understand the hardship that most of these families are going through," he told ABC News.

Montclair, New Jersey, enacted a pandemic rent freeze that must be reauthorized every three months. The most recent extension expires on March 31.

And landlords in the town have been fighting back. Over the last two years, a group of landlords has been challenging the rent control ordinance passed by the town council, repeatedly suing the town after rent control negotiations failed.

The rent control freeze limits yearly rent increases to 4.25%, 2.5% for senior citizens. It also prevents rent increases above 10% after a tenant vacates a unit. The law, however, only applies to properties with four or more units built before 2008.

In November, St. Paul and Minneanapolis voters passed a rent control cap preventing rent from increasing more than 3% annually in most places.

Additionally, applying the cap to both new construction buildings and older vacant units gave St. Paul one of the most restrictive rent control laws in the entire country.

"Passage of this proposal marks a significant step towards addressing the affordable housing crisis in St. Paul and puts our elected leaders on notice that renter protections and housing stability are essential priorities for voters," said Tram Hoang, campaign manager of pro-rent control group Keep St. Paul Home, during a postelection press conference in November.

But this week, a Minnesota Senate panel voted to remove rent control measures in Minneapolis and St. Paul and block ballot questions on the issue in the future. The move would apply retroactively, overturning voter-approved measures in the Twin Cities. The bill is proceeding to the Minnesota Senate for a vote.

California is one of the few states that have blanket rent control measures. It limits annual rent increases at 5%, plus the change in the regional Consumer Price Index (CPI), or no more than 10% of the lowest gross rental rate a tenant was charged during any year-long period before the date of the increase.

In Santa Ana, however, local officials go even further. Last year, Santa Ana instilled a cap of 3% a year for apartments built before 1995, in addition to the regional inflation.

Landlords can petition for an exemption from the law if they prove that raising rent on their tenants beyond 3% will provide a "fair and reasonable return" on their properties.