A vocal coalition that includes state lawmakers will once again try to get New Mexico’s prohibition on rent control repealed at the legislative session that begins Jan. 21 in Santa Fe. The group hopes a longer 60-day session this year will give the effort more legs after it failed to gain traction during last year’s 30-day schedule.
Supporters see removing the statewide prohibition as a crucial way to stabilize a situation thousands of New Mexicans find themselves in — sky-high rents that put renters on the edge of eviction and homelessness. Removing the prohibition would allow local municipalities to decide for themselves whether to craft legislation for debate and a potential vote.
New Mexico is one of about 35 states that prohibits cities and counties from enacting rent control laws.
Mayor Tim Keller’s administration released its legislative priorities last week, but didn’t mention rent control. When asked about it, a spokesperson said in an email to City Desk ABQ: “The City of Albuquerque supports defending and expanding renter protections at the local and state level. In general, we always appreciate having more flexibility to try different ways to make housing affordable for families.”
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It’s unclear whether Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports the repeal. A request for comment from her office wasn’t returned.
Meanwhile, City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn thinks it is a mistake that the city isn’t pushing for the repeal, and she knows how hard it is to pass tenant protection measures of any kind. Now entering her fourth year on the Council, just one of four measures she’s proposed have passed.
A residential tenant protection ordinance and a landlord database measure she crafted both failed last year, and a non-binding resolution — known as a memorial — to urge the state Legislature to repeal the prohibition failed on a 2-7 vote in 2022.
Fiebelkorn’s latest measure to ensure residents have proper cooling systems installed in their households narrowly passed 5-4 last December.
“I get an email or a phone call from someone in my district every week who is being priced out of their home,” she said. “They’ve been living in an apartment for six months, four years, two decades, and the rent is going up. I’m not talking about 5%. I’m talking about 30%, 40%, 70% increases. People can’t pay that.”
Bex Hampton of the Peoples Housing Project hosted a rally supporting the prohibition’s repeal in Albuquerque on Saturday, and is scheduled to host another in Santa Fe on Jan. 25 at the Roundhouse. She’s worked with Sen. Linda M. López, D-Albuquerque, who’s once again introducing a bill to repeal the prohibition, and Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, who’s also in favor of the repeal.
Lopez previously said she was alarmed by an increase of Albuquerque Public Schools students and their families becoming unhoused, as well as two or three families living in the same house, because of high rents.
“Some are living in a hotel,” Lopez said to City Desk ABQ last year. “You talk to these families and it’s because they can’t afford the cost of rent – a first and last month deposit, plus a security deposit.”
Hampton said rent control is necessary not only to address the housing crisis, but to prevent further gentrification of Albuquerque’s historic neighborhoods and the displacement of its original residents.
“Private development is driven by profit, not community needs,” she said. “Repealing the prohibition would expand democratic rights. Rent control wouldn’t stop investment, but would provide an option for local governments.”
Hampton said that despite a Democratic majority in Santa Fe, many lawmakers are themselves property owners and landlords, which she said may influence some of the opposition to the repeal.
Fiebelkorn thinks some of the pushback can also be explained by the perception that rent control is a draconian measure, similar to New York City’s enacted in the 1970s.
“That’s not what anyone’s talking about,” she said. “My dream would be to have the authority to say, ‘In the city of Albuquerque, we’re putting a cap on rent increases of something reasonable, like 10% a year.’ I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s so much less than what people are experiencing right now, and I do think that that’s the role of government — we should be protecting our citizens. Having that kind of stabilization of rent in our city is not going to keep anyone from making money on their investments.”
Even CA has rent control. Housing in NM is controlled by mostly wealthy owners. Yes, there are some ‘average’ people who own rental property, but many of the available options, including where I used to live, Los Altos Towers, were taken over by SoCal companies. My rent increased 40% overnight. A 48-page lease was presented that had 98% of the rules/regs in the owner’s favor, including that they could pretty much do anything they wanted to us tenants, including using photos of us at gatherings, or anywhere on the property, in their marketing. There was a tiny one-page list that outlined our rights.