Proposed RENT Ordinance aims to rein in unfair rental practices

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Jun. 9—The Albuquerque City Council is set to consider sweeping new rules that would overhaul the rental process citywide, aiming to protect tenants from hidden fees, housing instability and unresponsive landlords.
The bill, known as Renter's Empowerment and Neighborhood Transparency (RENT) Ordinance, would enshrine several protections around almost every part of the renting experience. The bill addresses nearly all aspects of the rental process and would impact every landlord and renter in the city. Statistics from the American Community Survey show that about 44% of households in Albuquerque rent.
But it's far from guaranteed to pass.
"I think that this council has proven in the past that they're not interested in helping renters very much," said Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, who is sponsoring the bill on behalf of the mayor's office. "But recently, we did get two pieces of tenant protections passed."
Those two pieces were an ordinance mandating landlords provide cooling for tenants and a bill that created a code enforcement position to respond directly to renters' issues.
The bill also faces opposition from landlord advocates.
"While the stated intent of this legislation may be to protect tenants, in practice, it burdens responsible landlords, increases operational and legal risk, and would discourage housing investment in Albuquerque," said Alan LaSeck, executive director of the Apartment Association of New Mexico.
LaSeck went on to say the proposals ignore the realities of managing rental housing and would lead to reduced availability, higher costs and greater conflict.
"Rather than fostering cooperation between tenants and owners, they threaten to drive housing providers out of the market, shrinking our housing supply, increasing rents and worsening the very problem we're trying to solve," LaSeck said.
What's in the RENT Ordinance?
Shanna Schultz, policy and government affairs administrator for the city, said the bill comes at a time when Albuquerque continues to grapple with a housing crisis.
A 2024 Denver-based Root Policy Research report, titled "Albuquerque Region Housing Needs Assessment," found a significant shortage of units for low-income renters. The same report found that residents were spending more than a third of their monthly income on housing and that occupied units, such as apartments and single-family homes, often had more residents than rooms available.
"I think we know that building more homes is essential, but that's not enough on its own. It's not the only tool in the toolkit," Schultz said. "We also need to protect the people who are already living in homes."
Schultz, who authored the policy proposal, noted that the bill's transparency provisions were among its most significant changes.
The RENT Ordinance would require landlords to disclose all costs of a rental agreement in plain language in their published listings. That includes anything on a background check that could disqualify an applicant, as well as minimum credit score or income requirements.
"This can help renters avoid surprise charges and do things like budget more confidently, which is very important in this economy right now," Schultz said.
There are several other key provisions, including those around repairs. The ordinance grants the tenant the right to arrange for necessary maintenance by a licensed and insured professional. The tenant can also deduct the cost of the repair from their rent payment or receive reimbursement from the landlord when the landlord fails to make a repair.
Landlords would also be prohibited from charging fees and additional rent for companion animals, defined in the bill as typical pets not used for commercial purposes.
In all, the bill makes changes to rules around security deposits, relocation assistance, the rental application process, evictions, credit reporting requirements, move-in and move-out procedures and methods of payment.
It's set to go before the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee on June 11. If it advances, it's unlikely to go before the full council until at least August, Schultz said.
"Why would landlords also be interested in this? And I think the answer to that is that clear rules reduce confusion and conflict," Schultz said.