Montgomery County, MD

February 9, 2024
 
Dear Owner/Manager:
 
The Voluntary Rent Guideline (VRG) system helps provide a framework for rental property owners to acknowledge regional inflationary pressures and avoid price gouging. The figures from the U.S. Department of Labor, on which the Voluntary Rent Guidelines are based, show the increase in the rent component of the 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Metropolitan area to be 2.6%.
 
While the County’s new rent stabilization law became effective on October 23, 2023, the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) cannot enforce the law until the Montgomery County Council approves the implementing regulations. The draft executive regulations may be found in the February edition of the County register, www.montgomerycountymd.gov/exec/register/current.html. In the interim, we strongly encourage you to voluntarily limit increasing rent by more than the guideline.  Your cooperation in keeping rent increases affordable and within the guideline is appreciated.

Please direct any questions or observation that you may have about the guideline to the Office Landlord-Tenant Affairs in the Department of Housing and Community Affairs at (240) 777-0311.
 
Sincerely,
 
Scott Bruton
Director