ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – While efforts to bring rent control died in the Roundhouse this session, city leaders in Albuquerque are working to design their own rules to help renters out.
With the Residential Tenant Protections Ordinance, the hope is to not only provide protections for renters but to also help protect landlords.
“In general, this is not going to impact many folks, but we do have a few bad actors out there that are taking advantage mostly of people on limited, fixed incomes, and are throwing fee after fee after fee onto people’s monthly expenses without any notification,” said Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn
The bill was recently revised and passed in the city’s Finance and Government Operations Committee last month.
The ordinance lays out some rules for landlords like disclosing all fees to tenants from the start, including application fees.
It also said application fees cannot exceed $150. Also, landlords will have to accept money orders as a form of payment for rent.
Because cities cannot enact rent control on a local level, some city leaders feel this is one way to help struggling renters make ends meet.
“We’re not saying that you should limit your rent if you’re a landlord, but we are saying that the rents plus any fees that you’re going to charge have to be disclosed, and so, if I’m a person that’s looking to, you know, find an apartment to live in, I need to be able to upfront know if I can afford to live in this unit,” said Councilor Fiebelkorn.
The ordinance has protections for landlords as well. It allows them to require renters to have renters’ insurance, but only for the actual rental property, not the renters’ personal belongings.
The ordinance is expected to be voted on at the city council meeting Monday evening.
