Montgomery County Council members are proposing legislation to conserve affordable housing and protect low- and middle-income renters from being priced out. As reported in The Washington Post:

Montgomery County, where the Hampshire Tower building is located, will need 33,000 to 50,000 more housing units over the next decade for families making $100,000 or less, according to data from the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. About half of those units should be affordable to households earning less than $50,000 a year.

Unlike the District, the county does not have strong rent-control laws — a reflection, critics say, of the political clout enjoyed by landlords and real estate developers. And although the city of Takoma Park has a rent-stabilization statute, the owners of the Hampshire Tower complex won an exemption after agreeing to renovate the property.

But with housing prices on the rise, and a growing gap between the county’s poor and its very wealthy, the County Council this fall will consider legislation that imposes new rent restrictions — especially at certain affordable properties, such as Hampshire Tower, that are located near mass transit.

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The legislation proposed by ­Elrich would eliminate those fees, require landlords to justify any rent increases that exceed the ­recommended guidelines and cap the rent at certain properties near mass transit. The bill, co-sponsored by council members Nancy Navarro (D-Mid-County) and Tom Hucker (D-Eastern County), is to be taken up by the council this fall.

For more information read the full article in The Washington Post.