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NorseTikiBar t1_ja98d41 wrote

Reply to comment by dwarfgourami in D.C. Tenants in Rent-Controlled Units Could See as Much as 8.9 Percent Increases by rennbrig

Yeah, like... this is just a big scary number without the context of inflation and that other rents have gone up way higher. I'm not sure why I'm supposed to be aghast at this.

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ch36u3v4r4 t1_ja9lnvj wrote

Because many people are already spending a huge % of their income on housing and increasing that share will likely affect spending throughout the economy.

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NorseTikiBar t1_ja9mj6l wrote

Rent control units are already significantly below market rate. This doesn't change that.

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[deleted] t1_jaa60p8 wrote

[deleted]

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drastician t1_jaanjr9 wrote

No, there is a max they can increase. When a place goes vacant, you can charge 10% more than the last tenant, unless they were there more than 10 years in which case you can charge 20%. This is from the pamphlet on DHCD’s site.

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88138813 t1_jaaws4x wrote

Flat-out not true. For rent controlled units, the max rent increase for a vacancy is 10%.

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CatDisco99 t1_jac8q96 wrote

Not necessarily. They’ve basically met the market at this point, with the exception of some of the newer buildings that are vastly overcharging.

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Gumburcules t1_jacvskz wrote

> with the exception of some of the newer buildings that are vastly overcharging.

If their vacancy rate is low, they're not overcharging, they're charging exactly what the market will bear.

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CatDisco99 t1_jad0j9q wrote

Maybe the vacancy rate is low because of the overpriced rent? 🤔

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Gumburcules t1_jad6qld wrote

I don't think you understand what a "low vacancy rate" means.

DC's class A vacancy rate is currently 5.7%, meaning 94.3% of class A (i.e. "luxury" apartments) are currently being rented. The national average for residential vacancy is 5.8% so DC is a slightly more competitive market.

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