Survey: Half of county renters worried about affordability

By Jennifer Deseo | Dec 17, 2009

Montgomery County’s renters don’t have too many complaints against their landlords, but half of them are sweating the rent, according to results of a county survey released Monday.

Graph: Issues important to renters. And yes, those are Peeps. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Graph: Issues important to renters. And yes, those are Peeps. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

About 50 percent of the survey’s 588 respondents said they didn’t expect to afford the rent at their current homes in the next five years. The results, pulled together by the county’s tenant work group, didn’t explain why respondents felt this way. However, half of the tenants surveyed said they’d seen annual rent increases of 4 to 7 percent. Most (75 percent) had their rents raised at least once in five years.

“This survey shows that many tenants are subject to rent increases that go well beyond the voluntary county guidelines,” Matt Losak, a renter and chairman of the tenants work group, said in a press statement. “We need rental housing laws that ensure tenants more long-term security.” (more…)

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Renters’ group to review rants, recommend change

By Jennifer Deseo | Nov 13, 2008

Got a leaky faucet? Holler at your landlord. Worried about steep rent increases or condo conversions? Holler at the tenants work group.

The new group, which MoCo exec Ike Leggett rolled out on Wednesday, will look into renter concerns and recommend tweaks to the county’s housing code and maybe even state law. The group could give renters a leg up on homeowners’ associations, which already serve as bullhorns for the bourgeoisie, a press statement suggested.

“Renters should enjoy life in our community without fear of losing their housing without just cause, and can reasonably seek remedies when some landlords fail to maintain quality living environments,” Leggett said.

Fifteen members rock the work group, including property owners, reps from tenant and community groups, and people from the county and state governments. Matt Losak, president of the Colespring Plaza Tenants Association in downtown Silver Spring, chairs the group.

According to 2006 census data, about 29 percent of MoCo households are rental units. But in parts of Silver Spring below the Beltway, that number hits 52 percent of households and doesn’t include new apartments on East-West Highway and Fidler Lane.

One of the big issues facing tenants, Leggett said, are the rising rents. In downtown Silver Spring, rent increases generally exceeded the county’s recommended 6-percent increase, according to a study conducted last year by the nonprofit Impact Silver Spring.

“It is important that renters know that living in Montgomery County means their homes will remain affordable year in and year out, that rental communities will maintain minimum quality living standards protected by the County code,” Leggett said.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user TurkeyChik.

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