We have a Housing Emergency in Providence. Rent Stabilization Can Fix That - Morales

We have a Housing Emergency in Providence. Rent Stabilization Can Fix That - Morales

Today, Providence is the least affordable city in America for renters. While the median annual income in our city is just $62,000, you actually need to earn $86,000 to afford the median apartment here. And this is only getting worse. Since 2023, the cost of rent has skyrocketed by a staggering $318 per month, an unsustainable, out-of-control figure.

 

This increase isn’t just felt in statistics and numbers. Our neighbors, the people who call Providence home, are made to bear the brunt of these hikes. While door-knocking on the campaign trail, I met a neighbor in Lower South Providence whose story has stuck with me. She’s a working single mother whose rent for a 2-bedroom apartment jumped from $1,400 to $2,000, an unachievable increase for her current budget. She tried negotiating it down, but was told by her landlord to either take it or leave her home. At the time, her daughter’s sweet sixteen was coming up, and she was forced to choose between moving apartments on a dime or not throwing her a celebration. Ultimately, she chose the latter, and what was supposed to be one of the most exciting days of her daughter’s life was cancelled due to a rent hike.

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Her story isn’t an outlier; it’s quickly becoming the norm. As a State Representative, my days are filled with calls from neighbors about everyday issues, from trash delays to help applying for Medicaid. By far the most common type of phone call I receive is from neighbors who’ve just been informed that their rent is going up and asking if I know of any affordable units they could move to. I search the internet for listings, and many times, I find them access to public housing or an affordable alternative, but most share a common theme: they’re outside of Providence.

 

It’s not a radical idea to say that the people who currently live in Providence should be able to afford to stay in Providence. In search of a solution to this crisis, look no further than rent stabilization.

 

With thoughtful exemptions such as for the first 15 years of a new construction and for owner-occupied units, the City’s proposal for rent stabilization would limit increases in rent to no more than 4% a year. The benefit to tenants is clear: gone will be the days of sudden, massive increases in rent that squeeze our neighbors dry and force many to leave Providence, or cancel their children’s sweet sixteens. Along with making the cost of housing more affordable for longtime residents, rent stabilization will also provide some much-needed predictability to people who currently have no way of anticipating how much more they’ll be paying once they renew their lease. You’ll only need to balance your checkbook in preparation for a 4% increase at most, a far cry from the double-digit hikes many of our neighbors have been forced to deal with for years.

 

In my time in the State House and on the campaign trail, I’ve even spoken with landlords who tell me they support the city council’s rent stabilization proposal. Many of these smaller, mom-and-pop landlords only need to increase rents by modest amounts, like $50 a year, well below the 4% cap. They’re also at risk of being bought out and subsumed by massive, faceless, corporate real estate conglomerates that shamelessly spike rents anywhere they can get away with and use these large profits to purchase all competition. Rent stabilization isn’t just about protecting tenants; it’s about ensuring a level playing field for landlords, too.

 

This isn’t a new idea either. Over two hundred municipalities nationwide have some form of rent stabilization or control. One of these municipalities is Portland, Maine, which in 2020 was facing a housing affordability crisis similar to our own. That year, they passed rent stabilization, and in October 2025,

 

A report about the ordinance to piece together how a similar measure may look for our city. They found that with clear language, smart exceptions, and strong enforcement, tenants can be protected. We have the blueprints.

 

It’s time we take action.

 

Providence, Rhode Island, is the least affordable city for renters in the United States, but it doesn’t have to be. It is high time we rescue our special city from the housing crisis and stabilize the rent for our neighbors who call it home.

 

- David Morales is a Rhode Island State Representative and a candidate for Mayor of Providence.