Montgomery County updates rent‑stabilization rollout; DHCA proposes faster troubled‑property timeline and fixed scoring

The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) gave committee members an update on implementation of the county's rent‑stabilization law and on proposed amendments to the troubled‑and‑at‑risk property regulations.

DHCA Director Scott Bruton said the Office of Rent Stabilization (ORS) filled nine positions (manager, program manager, investigator, four program specialists, an admin specialist and a senior IT specialist) and launched the rental housing portal on Sept. 16, 2024. Bruton described program mechanics and early metrics: "The annual rent increase is the lesser of the consumer price index for urban wage earners plus 3 or 6%. The current increase allowance is 6%." He added the FY26 allowance will be 5.7% based on a 2.7% CPIU figure.

Key implementation figures provided to the committee: - Portal and registrations: 453 properties have registered in the rental housing portal, representing 8,299 rental units. DHCA said the portal automates allowable increase calculations, fee rules and "banking" of unused increase allowances for landlords and can be viewed by tenants for registered properties. - Enforcement and intake: From July 23, 2024 through Feb. 22, 2025, ORS responded to 546 service requests; staff issued 10 citations for noncompliance and collected $5,000 in fees to date. - Coverage: Of about 98,000 licensed rental units in the county, DHCA estimates roughly 57,058 units (about 58%) are subject to rent stabilization; about 3,700 currently exempt units will transition to regulation within five years as the 23‑year exemption sunsets for certain buildings. - Petitions: ORS has received one fair‑return petition so far, reviewed a Poolesville townhouse case in which DHCA approved a 50.924% fair‑return increase (raising rent from $1,400 to $2,112.94) after recalculating base years and consulting the Office of the County Attorney.

Troubled and at‑risk properties: DHCA also reported on inspections and proposed regulatory changes that would speed designation notifications and provide fixed scoring thresholds rather than a relative, year‑end chart. Current figures presented: 90 properties are currently designated troubled and 101 at‑risk (including carryover properties); 11 troubled/at‑risk properties have requested earlier re‑inspection — DHCA said five have been reinspected, two are awaiting assignment and four are scheduled. Bruton and code enforcement manager Tamela Robinson described inspection prioritization (emergencies first; then at‑risk properties that have cured violations and requested inspections; then scheduled troubled inspections; then compliant properties on three‑year cycles).

Regulatory changes proposed: Draft amendments published Feb. 1 would (1) deliver scores and designation notices within 30 days of scoring rather than waiting for the full annual cycle, (2) determine troubled/at‑risk/compliant status by fixed TV/SV thresholds rather than a relative quadrant model, and (3) allow troubled and at‑risk properties to request earlier inspections once they cure violations and (for troubled properties) submit corrective action plans and two quarters of tenant work logs. The draft also sets fees for owner‑requested inspections that mirror existing escalations (initial and second re‑inspections free; subsequent inspections subject to fees).

Council members asked for further specifics and data. Members requested a written follow‑up on whether the county can use permitting/use‑and‑occupancy records rather than SDAT build‑date data to determine the 23‑year exemption trigger; DHCA said it will check permitting services and the Office of the County Attorney and return a response in roughly two weeks. Members also asked for more granular intake and complaint metrics, an itemized list of properties coming under regulation in the next three years, details on the 11 re‑inspection requests (dates, unit counts, status), and a plan for Spanish‑language outreach and translated materials.

DHCA said it will produce an augmented presentation with the requested breakdowns and will continue working with the Office of the County Attorney on the troubled‑property regulation revisions before submitting final language to the executive and council.