Providence Hope Committee Deliberates on Rent Stabilization Ordinance – March 2, 2026
Providence Hope Committee Deliberates on Rent Stabilization Ordinance – March 2, 2026
The Hope Committee (Special Committee on Health Opportunity, Prosperity and Education) held a regular meeting on Monday, March 2, 2026, at approximately 10:27 PM (based on transcript timestamp). The primary agenda item was continued deliberation on the proposed Providence Rent Stabilization Act (Ordinance amending Chapter 13 of the Code of Ordinances). The committee heard fiscal impact analyses from the city’s Chief Financial Officer Lawrence Mancini and independent policy consultant Tom Seguris, and received remarks from the ordinance sponsor, Council President Rachel Miller. The meeting concluded with the committee voting to continue the matter to a future date, with additional public listening sessions scheduled.
Discussion Items
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Sponsor Remarks: Council President Rachel Miller, the ordinance sponsor, emphasized that rent stabilization is intended solely to stabilize rent and make it predictable, not to address other housing issues. She noted that Providence has seen average rent increases of 16% in recent years, and that rent stabilization does not decrease construction according to peer-reviewed studies. She cited Portland, Maine as an example where construction permits increased after stabilization. Miller stressed that the ordinance creates a rent board where tenants can seek relief, and that property owners can still obtain a fair return.
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Fiscal Analysis by City CFO: Lawrence Mancini presented a detailed fiscal note covering administrative costs and potential tax revenue impacts. He estimated the annual operating cost of the rent board at approximately $576,000, starting next fiscal year. Mancini warned that the city could see property tax revenue losses or shifts ranging from $1.9 million to $3.2 million annually under certain models, and under a broader model similar to Portland’s (which uses a single tax classification), losses could approach $10.3–$17.5 million. He explained that lost revenue would shift the tax burden primarily to single-family homeowners, including seniors on fixed incomes. He also noted that 44% of residential dwellings in Providence could be subject to the ordinance, and that approximately 60% of residential properties contain rental units.
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Independent Policy Consultant Analysis: Tom Seguris provided an alternative fiscal perspective. He estimated that a 5% reduction in property values for affected rental properties (about $6 billion in assessable value) could lead to a near-term revenue impact of ~$1.5 million in FY27, mainly from appeals and legal costs. He argued that over the long term, the effect on the city’s property tax roll would be negligible because the city can adjust tax rates to compensate. Seguris also estimated aggregate annual rent in Providence at $1.1–$1.5 billion and cautioned that rental assistance programs would need to be a significant fraction of that to be effective.
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Committee Discussion: Committee members raised concerns about the ordinance’s impact on student housing, small landlords, and affordability. Councilwoman Shelley Peterson (Ward 14) expressed that a 15-year new construction exemption could incentivize corporate landlords to demolish single-family homes for larger student-oriented buildings, exacerbating gentrification in her ward. Councilman Sanchez and Councilwoman Royas discussed the difference between rent control and rent stabilization, and noted that the ordinance accounts for all landlord costs through a fair return provision. Councilman Sanchez also emphasized the human cost of inaction, referencing neighbors freezing to death.
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Future Listening Sessions: The chair announced two additional public listening sessions: March 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM at the South Side Cultural Center (hosted by the chair and Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris), and March 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM at Bell Street Chapel (hosted by Council President Miller). The committee will continue to accept amendments and feedback.
Key Outcomes
- The committee voted to continue the meeting (motion by Councilmember Peterson, seconded by Councilman Sanchez) to a future date after additional public input and potential amendments.
- The agenda item (Ordinance amending Chapter 13 to add the Providence Rent Stabilization Act) remains under consideration.
- The fiscal note and letters from the administration were entered into the record as items 1 and 2.
- No final vote on the ordinance was taken.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Um, today we're joined here for uh the special committee on health opportunity, prosperity and education, also known as Hope Committee for a regular meeting uh for Monday, March second, two thousand twenty six. Uh, Madam Clerk, if you could please call the role. Chairman Picchardo. Present. Councillor Andel is absent. Councillor Royas. Present. For a present when absent, you have a quorum. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Um for the purpose of this meeting. And also have some deliberation among this committee. We will also be sharing with you uh some additional dates that we will continue to have regarding the rent stabilization ordinance. Um, the public will also have an opportunity to provide public testimony on uh any suggested amendments uh that we have uh for this for this ordinance. At this time, uh, Madame Clerk, if you could read item number one. Item one. In ordinance amending chapter thirteen housing of the code of ordinances of the City of Providence to add the next appropriate article, the Providence Rent Stabilization Act. I also would like to uh recognize uh that are present with us colleagues. Uh Chairwoman Mary Kay Harris from Ward 11 and also uh our colleague from uh uh ward 2, Jill Davidson, and uh of course our president uh Rachel Miller. Uh thank you for joining us. At this time um we'll like to have the sponsor of the bill, um council president Rachel Miller, if you'd like to uh thank you all right, welcome. Thank you, thank you, Chairman and uh committee members, and I really do want to thank you for taking this up tonight for having um nearly six hours, five and a half at least hours of testimony uh at the public hearing. There's been many other hours of community meetings and more to come. So I just want to very earnestly thank you for uh the deliberation and the the kind of trust um that you are putting in the people of Providence to come and share their experiences and voices. So thank you for that. Um I have been thinking about how to move uh rent stabilization in Providence for as long as I've been in office, so it's been seven years now. Uh in that seven years, rent has risen dramatically in the last couple of years, an average of 16%, but long long before that, right? Rent was uh felt like we were at a high seven years ago. We have far surpassed that. Families who uh were longtime Providence families have left our city in the time that I've been in office, and it's hard to um share the kind of policy failure that that feels like, right? To have done nothing to uh stall huge, huge rent increases in my time uh almost two full terms, but one term and three quarters. Um and so I'm I'm really glad that we're here. Uh I'm I'm proud of the ordinance before you. I think it represents uh some of the best things that have happened around the country in policies like this, and also has made adjustments that are specific to Providence that are specific to our rental market. Uh we heard so much testimony, and I know there'll be a lot of feedback and and um amendments that come from that testimony, but I just want to kind of ground us in the why of this proposal, um, and then uh as you get into discussion, if there's anything that I can add in terms of the mechanics of the ordinance later, I'm happy to do that. Um, but you know, I think one thing that I just want to remind people rent stabilization does exactly one thing and one thing only. It stabilizes rent, it makes rent predictable, it helps families plan. Um, it is not meant to do anything else. Uh, and so we are, as this council, we have done a tremendous uh amount of other things related to increasing housing in the city of Providence. Um we have overhauled the comprehensive plan, changing zoning, uh adding more density, adding uh uh accessory dwelling units. We have added money into the housing trust fund and made sure that that money was for uh low-income residents specifically. Uh we have subsidized private development through tax stabilization uh agreements, and we have banned uh algorithmic pricing that does get a little bit into rent prices, but all of that is increasing the housing stock in ways that we need to do and we'll keep doing. Um what we are doing right now is recognizing that we cannot wait. The people of Providence cannot wait for a market to correct itself. In fact, the situation that we're in today is the result of the market, is a result of market forces. Uh, so so we know that it's a situation that's just untenable. Um then I just want to speak a little bit to what we kind of heard in committee and share some thoughts on um sorry in the public hearing and share some thoughts. So people often cite data and studies as if they are kind of sacrosanct. There's a couple things I just want to be absolutely clear on. There is no peer reviewed study at all that shows that rent stabilization policies decrease construction.
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