Advocates pushing for Georgia lawmakers to lift a decades-old, statewide ban on rent control face an uphill battle in the current 40-day legislative session, which started last Monday.
“I don’t see that happening,” state Sen. Gloria Butler, a Democrat representing Stone Mountain, told Capital B Atlanta in December. “I’m being realistic because these are real issues for real people.”
Democratic elected leaders said they realize many of their constituents want something done to rein in high rent prices, but they also acknowledged that even members of their party aren’t united on repealing the state’s ban on rent regulation. Beyond that, Republicans still maintain majority control of both legislative chambers in the Gold Dome and their unlikely support would be needed for a repeal of the rent regulation ban.
Several Democratic lawmakers acknowledged the power and influence of the real estate lobby inside the Georgia General Assembly. They noted that an estimated 25% of lawmakers, including some Democrats, are landlords themselves, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, suggesting some of their business interests may not align with repealing a rent regulation ban.
“Unfortunately, we have a divide when we come talking about regulating rental prices in the state,” state Rep. Billy Mitchell, a Democrat representing Stone Mountain, said in December. “We have Democrats who don’t agree with that, and we have Republicans who don’t agree with that as well.”
Advocates for repealing the rent control ban say inaction on elevated rent prices is hurting many of the voters Democrats need to win elections.
State lawmakers declined to pass meaningful legislation last year to address higher rent prices as Atlanta’s overwhelmingly Black homeless population grew by 33%, largely due to the rising cost of housing.
Black people constituted 83% of those counted in the latest homeless census conducted by Partners for HOME, a nonprofit working to eliminate homelessness, which showed the ranks of the unhoused grew by at least 662 people last year.
The number of tent cities popping up near bridges and highways throughout the metro area and the state may continue to grow this year unless Georgia lawmakers lift the statewide ban on rent regulation. Atlanta was the “most desired city among renters in 2023” and remains the “#1 city to watch,” this year, according to RentCafe. High demand for apartments usually leads to higher rents.
Rent prices have leveled off in recent months, but remain high when compared to where they were prior to the pandemic.
The Atlanta region’s median monthly rent rose $95 in January to $2,095, according to Zillow. That’s a $69 decline from a year ago, but overall regional housing costs were up 4.8% year-over-year in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest consumer price index report.
Some say another Gold Dome session with no new legislation addressing rent prices could further dampen Democratic voter enthusiasm during a pivotal election year, but state Sen. Donzella James remains optimistic.
James is the Democrat representing Atlanta who introduced a bill last year to repeal the now 40-year-old statewide ban on rent control measures. Her bill, SB 125, failed to make it out of committee during last year’s legislative session. This past Tuesday, she expressed hope that it will advance this year despite skepticism from her Democratic colleagues.
James said some Republican lawmakers as well as Democrats voiced their support for the measure late last year after Georgia residents — including Atlanta activist Margie McLeod — upset about high rent prices made their voices heard during related Senate Urban Affairs Committee hearings, James said. She declined to name which of her GOP colleagues plan to support her bill.
“They said, ‘Don’t tell anybody,’” James told Capital B Atlanta. “If I can get it to the floor, or to their committee, they are willing to move forward.”
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office declined to weigh in on the issue on Thursday.
“It is our practice not to comment on pending legislation,” said Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas.
Supporters of repealing the rent control ban argue it’s necessary to empower local governments to enact greatly needed regulatory policies for disproportionately Black, low-income residents facing gentrification, eviction and rising homelessness across the state.
They include freshman state Rep. Eric Bell, a Democrat whose district includes Jonesboro. Bell has announced plans to introduce a house bill similar to James’ SB 125 during this session. He says local governments need the state to repeal its ban so they have the power to implement rent policies their constituents need.
“By banning them from enacting rent control, we are doing a disservice to our constituents who have voted for these people to represent them,” Bell told Capital B Atlanta on Monday.
Housing aid advocate Rodney Mullins, co-founder of West Atlanta Progress, an economic development and housing assistance nonprofit, addressed the issue of high rent prices and rent control during a state Senate Urban Affairs committee hearing in November. He’s a supporter of James’ SB 125.
Mullins said his organization has seen a surge in Black Atlanta residents facing eviction and homelessness due to the rising cost of housing. He said SB 125 is needed to help local government officials ensure legacy Black Atlanta residents aren’t completely priced out of their city.
“You’ve got to close a lot of the loopholes that allow these developers to have astronomical rates, and then you make the whole city a housing opportunity zone,” Mullins told Capital B Atlanta in December.
Opponents, including the Atlanta Apartment Association, say rent control policies can have “unintended consequences” that make housing affordability worse by reducing the supply of available market rate apartments.
“This drives demand and housing prices upward while impeding investment in new housing construction,” the group told the AJC in 2020 after the Atlanta City Council passed a measure urging state lawmakers to lift the rent regulation ban.
Butler, who serves as minority leader of the state Senate, and other lawmakers remain doubtful that repealing the state’s rent regulation ban is a realistic proposal. She suggested clearing the backlog of eviction cases in the court system would help increase the supply of apartments, which could lead to lower rents.
“Until the courts clear that out, clear those cases out, the apartment complex can’t do anything with that particular apartment even though they’ve gotten the people to move out,” Butler said. “The situation is one that forces the people that rent apartments … to raise the rent on those that are still there.”
Bell, 32, also expressed doubt that either of the rent regulation bills for which he and James are advocating will be signed into law this year. The first-term lawmaker also criticized his more-senior Democratic peers for appearing to refuse to fight for an issue their constituents care about more than anything.
“Literally, I have had colleagues tell me, ‘It’s never gonna pass. It’s not worth my time to talk about,’” Bell said. “With that type of attitude, nothing’s ever gonna change. You’ve got to start with the conversation before it changes.”
A spokesperson for Rep. James Beverly, a Macon Democrat, said the party plans to host hearings on housing issues, including rent regulation, by early February.
James and Bell called on people concerned about rent prices in Georgia to attend the hearings and make their voices heard throughout this year’s legislative session, saying there is “strength in numbers.”
“Some of the legislators who might say no now could change if we could just show them that this is something that they need to change,” James said.
Failing to pass legislation addressing rent regulation this year could cost Democrats much-needed Black support during a pivotal presidential election cycle, Mullins said.
“Nobody’s going to vote if they’re not eating, if they don’t have a place to live,” he said.
