A landlords’ association is seeking to block implementation of the Portland rent control ordinance that was adopted by referendum in November.

A lawsuit filed in Maine Superior Court in Portland by the Southern Maine Landlord Association claims the ordinance is vague, conflicts with state and federal statutes, and is an improper use of the citizen initiative process. The measure generally limits rent increases for most landlords in the city and also establishes a Rent Board to review requests by landlords to raise rents for their tenants.

Some of the provisions of the ordinance already have gone into effect, but the city is still working on others, such as the membership of the Rent Board. The suit says that the panel will be unfairly tilted in favor of tenants.

Messages left with the association seeking an interview about its suit were not returned Thursday night.

The rent control law was one of five progressive measures adopted by Portland voters in November.

A spokesman for People First Portland, which sponsored the initiative that put the measure on the ballot, said landlords were “effectively grasping at straws” with the lawsuit. People First Portland is a political action committee formed by the Southern Maine Democratic Socialists of America, which sponsored five citizen initiatives on the ballot.

Three other referenda proposed by the group – including an increase in the minimum wage in the city, strengthening a ban on facial recognition technology, and changes to the city’s green building codes – also passed on Election Day.

Jack O’Brien, an organizer for People First Portland, said the suit amounted to “quibbling” over details of the new rent rules.

Part of the ordinance went into effect on Dec. 4, a month after the election, and the rest took effect on Jan. 1, O’Brien said, although it is taking some time for the city to set up some of its provisions. The Rent Board, for instance, is expected to be set up next month.

But any delay in implementation of the new law would be harmful to the more than 40,000 tenants in the city, O’Brien said.

Generally, the law limits most annual rent increases to the rise in the consumer price increase for the Greater Boston Metro area. That measure, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said, was up 0.4 percent for the year through November.

Landlords also can increase rents to cover increased property taxes and the cost of investing in the property and can also ask the Rent Board to approve an increase to allow a fair return on the property. In general, rent increases are capped at 10 percent a year, but board-approved increases beyond that can be “banked” for implementation in subsequent years.

The suit claims the Rent Board will be biased against landlords because the initiative said the city should appoint no more than three landlords and “at least” three tenant members to the seven-member board. The measure said the city should take “reasonable steps” to meet those numbers, but isn’t required to do so.

The suit asks a judge to invalidate the ordinance. No timetable has been set for court hearings.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Colby College announces Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence

Next »

Maine agencies praise Biden for moving to rescind abortion ‘gag rule’