CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Affordable housing was a front-and-center topic at Wednesday’s Albemarle Board of Supervisors meeting with the board requesting the county apply for $6.5-million in federal money. This as Scottsville Supervisor Mike Pruitt brings attention to people whose leases are not being renewed at Cavalier Crossing by a new owner, Bonaventure Multifamily Income Trust, who wants to build “an upscale community”. He’s afraid something similar will happen at Mallside, and other complexes across the county.

Pruitt is also suggesting legislation for the General Assembly to give localities “tools” needed to control such activity. They are:

1) Support for legislation that would allow localities to implement a rent stabilization/rent gouging protections. Rent stabilization limits how much a landlord can spike rents when a lease term renews—they are commonly pegged to a single digit percent increase over the consumer price index (CPI). E.g., a rent stabilization ordinance might prevent a landlord from increasing rents more than 5% over CPI, so if the CPI for 2024 is 5% and my landlord charges me $1,000 in rent, he would be limited to a $100 rent increase next year. Whether and how the board actually wants to implement such an ordinance would be a later discussion, but the power being in our quiver is critical. Bills to this effect were brought by Del. Clark and Sen. Boysko during the previous session (see: Virginia bills to cap rent increases don’t advance this session • Virginia Mercury).
2) Support for a local right of first refusal when affordable housing is sold. This would give local governments the right to purchase affordable housing complexes when they are listed for sale, like Cavalier Crossing was, in order to preserve the affordability. This is normally time-bounded. E.g., the owner would list the property at a reasonable market and a local government might have a 90 day window to accept, negotiate, or waive that right. There’s more discussion of the concept here: 2024 Right of First Refusal Summary (vahousingalliance.org). Del. Bennet-Parker submitted a bill to this effect last year. LIS > Bill Tracking > HB1398 > 2024 session (virginia.gov)

“Modern multifamily units are built with a quicker redevelopment turn-around time in mind—15-30 years before needing a total redev isn’t uncommon—making this a serious issue”, Pruitt writes.
“Redevelopment is costly, so landlords need to be able to charge higher rents to recoup costs. But this still doesn’t justify the kind of 300%+ increases like we see in Cavalier Crossing—this is not just redevelopment but a fundamental change in the type and purpose of the housing.”

Pruitt also suggests a concept for a new study that will look at ways to control rents during the redevelopment process.
“I want to explore the possibility of limiting rent increases following a redevelopment to address this while still allowing enough of an increase to recoup costs and profit, but I know of no serious academic literature or examples that have been tried in the US on this subject. So, I suggested that we add a JLARC study exploring this issue to our policy priorities. The board was receptive and staff will be developing language and clarifying this matter into a specific ask”, Pruitt writes.

Jack Jouett Supervisor Diantha McKeel wants to urge the General Assembly for a local right to enforce tenant issues with material conditions of housing. She and Pruitt note the only thing a locality can do if a landlord doesn’t address “egregious conditions” is “implement complex and costly code inspection regimes, which only ultimately have the option of declaring a unit uninhabitable”.
The right to enforce, according to Pruitt gives the locality ability “to actually seek court orders demanding compliance or damages on behalf of tenants, instead of just shuttering their homes.”