As Rhode Island rents continue to surge, affordable housing advocates are calling for investments that go beyond measures proposed in Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s 2025 state budget, including greater government involvement in regulating rents.
Rhode Island has the lowest housing production rates in the U.S. and the largest increase in year-over-year rental prices, according to multiple studies. Those distinctions create a particularly dire landscape for tenants.
As the proposed budget stands, McKee has allocated $100 million to “housing and community development,” described in the proposal as an allocation to increase “affordable and middle-income housing production and infrastructure, [support] community revitalization, and [promote] home ownership.”
But to ease soaring rent prices in the meantime, some are calling for measures such as rent control, or caps on increases for existing tenants.
Since 2021, state Sen. Tiara Mack, D-Providence, has introduced legislation to limit annual rent increases to a 4% limit for existing tenants, but it has failed to garner enough support. She’s renewing the call this year. A bill has already been introduced in the House to set a 4% limit, and another one is proposing a 10% cap.
“Four percent year over year, on average is how much the average salary increases,” Mack said. “So we want to keep in mind what people are making, and what they can afford.”
Currently, the state doesn’t impose any caps on rent increases, and Mack said her own rent rose by 24% last year alone.
“Rent increases like that often prevent people from living in the cities [where] they work,” Mack said, which forces families to move and often disrupts children’s education in the process.
Brenda Clement, executive director at HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University, says rent control laws may have a place in improving housing affordability, but it’s not a simple solution. She said caps on rent increases could further deter new housing development if lawmakers aren’t careful in crafting the regulations.
“The worst thing to do is have the developers say [they] won’t build or develop units,” Clement said.
And Providence residents won’t see support for rent stabilization from Mayor Brett P. Smiley.
“While Mayor Smiley is deeply concerned about the cost of rent in Providence, rent stabilization has proven to be an ineffective policy in other communities,” said Smiley spokesperson Josh Estrella. “It does not control property costs, arbitrarily picks winners and losers, and often leads to unintended consequences such as reduced investments in property maintenance.”
Smiley “has instead worked aggressively to invest in and incentivize long-term affordable housing solutions and supported the development of housing options at every price point,” Estrella said, such as financing nonprofit housing developers, funding eviction defense programs and streamlining development processes.
Still, Clement said, it’s worth having the conversation about rent control with all stakeholders at the table, including tenants, landlords who need to make their mortgage payments and developers.
Additionally, Clement and other advocates want to see the state commit more toward rent and mortgage relief – a $150 million budget investment, split evenly between the next two years.
Mack said the state can also develop new policies to assist renters, such as passing legislation that strengthens tenants’ rights – for example, giving reliable tenants the first chance to purchase their dwelling if a landlord chooses to sell. Such legislation has been introduced by lawmakers this session.
