LIVE: DARE's Mills on 2018 Providence Rent Control Campaign

LIVE: DARE's Mills on 2018 Providence Rent Control Campaign

Malchus Mills, a board member of Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), spoke with GoLocal News Editor about the rent control campaign announced on Wednesday to address renters' issues in the City of Providence. 

The campaign is focused on gathering enough signatures to put the proposal on the ballot in the city in November. According the city charter, “initiatives” can be brought by to the city council with 1,000 signatures from qualified electors of the city.  If the council declines to pass the proposed ordinance without amendment, the signatures of an additional 5% of the city’s qualified electors would prompt the council to place the ordinance on the ballot for a vote. 

“What we’re looking for is the right of Providence residents to decide whether they need Rent Control or not. We want to bring this issue straight to the people it affects; we know how much influence the real estate industry and landlord lobbyists wield in city hall,” explained Mills. 

The goals of the campaign are to ensure the following:

* Rent increases only once a year and only by a certain percentage
* Renewable one year leases for all tenants, so landlords could no longer offer only “month-to-month” tenancies, which allow landlords to evict tenants without fault with a 30 day notice. 
* A rent board to administer the ordinance, notifying landlords and tenants of allowable increases, moderating disputes, and publishing annual reports on the city’s private market rentals.