Helping Renters Become Homeowners In Prince George’s County
Council Member Mel Franklin Announces Homeownership Update to the Rental Assistance Act of 2023
Mel Franklin // County Council Member At-Large, Prince George’s County, MD
At Large Council member Mel Franklin
In the most recent debates in our County about the right policies to provide rental assistance to our tenant households, one topic that hasn’t received much attention is that of assisting renters to become homeowners in Prince George’s County. According to published reports, national homeownership rates among African-American households, which constitute almost two-thirds of Prince George’s County’s population, have fallen to just 45%. This is alarming because the fastest way to build generational wealth for any household or family is through homeownership, but that remains financially out of the reach of so many who desire that slice of the American Dream, especially in black and brown communities.
Prince George’s County First Time Homebuyer Program for Moderate Income Renters
The Rental Assistance Act of 2023 (CB-24-2023), sponsored by myself, Council Members Harrison and Hawkins, will be up for consideration tomorrow in the Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee. In order to address declining homeownership rates, the final version of this legislation has been amended to incorporate a new idea. For moderate to low-income renters that have never been homeowners, the Rental Assistance Act now proposes the establishment of a First Time Homebuyer Program for Moderate Income Renters, whereby the County will provide up to $5000 in down payment assistance for the purchase of a home. A tenant applicant must have been a renter for at least 24 consecutive months in Prince George’s County to qualify for this proposed program, be a first-time homebuyer, and have a household income 50% or less of the Area Media Income (AMI) for the Greater Washington Region. This program is designed to empower our tenants, many of whom are not building generational wealth through their rent payments, to make the transition to homeownership if they so choose.
Aligning Our Rent Gouging Prohibitions with the Montgomery County Council Majority
Since I last wrote about the topic of rental assistance and rent gouging (the sudden, large increases in rent that some households have experienced), an interesting thing happened. A majority of my Council colleagues in Montgomery County proposed a similar measure to (i) ban rent gouging and (ii) establish a robust rental assistance program to address smaller rent increases. Their rent gouging proposal will prohibit rent increases that are above 8% plus inflation (currently 6%) for rental properties that are older than 15 years. This restriction protects against rent gouging in older properties, while not impacting newer and future development. In order to have a consistent anti-rent gouging policy across our two jurisdictions, the updated Rental Assistance Act of Act of 2023 (CB-24-2023) has been amended incorporate a similar anti-rent gouging protection of limiting rent increases in properties older than 15 years to 8% plus inflation and, for age, disability, and veteran-restricted housing older than 15 years, the limit would be 4% plus inflation. The Rental Assistance Act would retain its proposal for a robust rental assistance fund that would provide 12 months of funding for moderate to low-income households that experience rent increases that are greater than 3%.
Improving Access to Home Ownership is a Big Priority
The First Time Homebuyer Program for Moderate Income Renters could be a game changer in improving the economic quality of life and increasing access to generational wealth for so many of our moderate to low-income families. Regardless of tomorrow’s outcome of the Council PHED Committee’s consideration of the Rental Assistance Act of 2023 (CB-24-2023), I will continue to advocate for this approach as a powerful tool to increase access to homeownership for our tenant households that seek to build a future that they can pass on to their children and grandchildren.
If you would like to support the Rental Assistance Act of 2023 and the proposal for a First Time Homebuyer Program for Moderate Income Renters, please go here: https://tinyurl.com/i-support-rental-assistance
