HOUSING JUSTICE

Housing is a human right. Everyone deserves housing that is affordable, safe, sanitary, and stable.

Yet legal protections for renters are weak. Laws provide little control over how much landlords and developers can increase rents in the County. Rents continue to rise while real income for working people has been in decline since 2008. This growing affordability gap, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is fueling an epidemic of evictions and driving thousands of residents out of Montgomery County.

Our County is facing an affordable housing crisis, and when more than a third of  residents are renters, all of us are impacted — especially the 50% of renters who spend a third or more of their income on rent. Housing insecurity also disproportionately impacts immigrants and trans and disabled people, as well as renters who live at or below the poverty line, earn a fixed or limited income, or did not qualify for pandemic-era emergency rental assistance funds because they could not prove pandemic-related loss of income.

JUFJ is working with partners and government officials to advocate for housing stability (providing due process legal protections for individuals and families facing the prospect of eviction), protections for renters, and the expansion of opportunities for the development of safe and affordable housing in our County. Montgomery County must reverse the trend that has led to the loss of 25,000 affordable rental units over the past 10 years. And we can advocate for more affordable, more available, and more secure housing for all.

Our housing partners include: CASA, Everyday Canvassing, Montgomery County Democratic Socialists of America, Housing Initiative Partnership, Shepherd’s Table,  MCEA, MCGEO, & SEIU Local 500 and all the members of the Montgomery County Racial Equity Network and Housing Justice Montgomery.

Want to get more involved in this campaign? Contact an organizer.

While solving the affordable housing crisis in Montgomery County will require a multipronged approach, an annual limit on rent increases, otherwise known as rent stabilization, can help keep thousands of renters housed right now.

Between April 2020 and summer 2023, JUFJ and our partners fought for permanent rent stabilization in Montgomery County. The historic campaign for permanent rent stabilization won in Summer 2023. The rent will be capped at 6% at buildings across the county thanks to the passage of Bill 15-23! In the summer of 2024, regulations were passed so implementation of the program can truly begin!

But the fight for renters is not over yet. The cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg are exempt from rent stabilization. Too many renters have no safety net in emergency situations – whether it is emergency rental assistance funds or a place to store their belongings while in temporary shelter. Join JUFJ and our partners to fight for these common sense protections for renters!

More info about getting involved is below!

Montgomery County Resources:

• The Montgomery County Housing for All Program
• Montgomery County COVID-19 Resources for Renters
• Montgomery County Resources for Tenants to Avoid Eviction

Other Resources:

• The Gilchrist Center
• Renters’ Alliance