Rent Control in Rockville - Part 2

7/21/25 Testimony to Rockville Mayor & Council

Thank you Madam Mayor and council members. My name is Ryan Murphy, and I’m a resident of Rockville. I’m not a landlord and have zero ties to the real estate industry; I’m here as a concerned citizen who wants Rockville to make the best evidence-based policy decisions to address the high cost of housing.

I testified here last July with my concerns about the negative impacts of rent control, and I urged a focus on supply-based solutions. I’ve been following this debate closely over the past year, and I thank the mayor and council for continuing to make the difficult and unpopular but correct decision for renters and for the future of our city, despite a lot of the misinformation that has been shared in front of this body. I applaud the courage of speakers who have shared their personal struggles with the high cost of housing, but it’s simply inaccurate to suggest this body isn’t trying to address the issue, just because they disagree with rent caps as the solution.

You’ve heard from many people in groups that are fundamentally opposed to the private ownership of housing, but the reality is, Rockville must remain attractive to developers and landlords so we can build more housing and increase competition—so landlords need to think twice before raising rents because tenants have better options nearby. This body has taken concrete steps in this direction, like updating the Town Center Master plan, though I believe there is still a lot more that can be done to support development in other parts of the city.

You’ve also heard from some folks in the real estate industry, and it’s reasonable to be skeptical of anyone with a financial interest. But price caps are never a good idea, and it’s easy to cherrypick quotes from studies to imply there is uncertainty among economists on this issue, the vast majority are in agreement that, quote, “while rent control appears to help current tenants in the short run, in the long run it decreases affordability, fuels gentrification, and creates negative spillovers on the surrounding neighborhood”.

It’s also not-means tested, meaning it also benefits high-income renters who don’t need the help. It effectively creates a lottery system, benefiting a select few who get a rent-controlled unit, while everyone else faces a market with fewer options and higher prices. The housing market is not zero-sum; developers can profit, at the same time that renters can benefit when there’s more housing available.

Even with abundant housing, some lower-income families will still struggle. The answer in these cases is targeted support, like social housing, vouchers or other subsidies. Those programs require public funding, and while rent control may seem free because it doesn’t require raising taxes, rent control isn’t just taking profits out of the pockets of developers, it’s really also a hidden tax on other renters.

Montgomery county’s 6% rent cap has already triggered redlining by large real estate firms, and early permitting data show huge declines in multifamily development; the extreme proposal of a 3% cap would be even more harmful. Some have asked to see more, recent, local data, but there is nothing unique about the dynamics of the housing market in Montgomery County; rent control has been studied for decades and repeatedly been shown to cause harm in jurisdictions where it has been tried across the country and the world. In summary, rent control is a flawed solution that will ultimately hurt many of the very people it aims to help, and the city of Rockville should continue to focus on other tools, such as increasing the supply of housing, to address the high cost of rent.

Thank you for your time.