St Paul Waters Down Rent Control

The St Paul City Council voted 4-3 last week on a policy that exempts all housing built after 2004 from the city’s rent control policy.

The change not only exempts the properties from the 3% rent increase cap, it also does so in perpetuity.

Council members hope the change will entice developers to come back to the city. This is especially important downtown, where many office buildings stand vacant as a result of post Covid workforce habits.

Of course, very few duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes in St Paul were built after 2004.

The council also voted unanimously to institute tenant screening protections similar to those in the city of Minneapolis. The ordinance will go into effect next year.

Many believe St Paul’s continuous revisions of their rent stabilization ordinance may serve as a deterrent to the Minneapolis City Council pursuing similar policies.