Courtesy of the National Apartment Association. 

Factors like higher interest rates and increased material costs continue to affect the development and affordability of rental housing. However, there’s one element that impedes building more than any other: Rent control. Montgomery County, Md., enacted rent control in July 2024, and since then, building permits have fallen drastically, to the point of nearly being nonexistent. 

According to a LinkedIn post from Jay Parsons, the county witnessed 2,093 permits during the first eight months of 2024 (Jan.-Aug.), just off the pace of all other Maryland counties at 2,274 building permits of five-plus units. Fast forward to 2025, all counties—sans Montgomery—stayed more or less the same at 2,248.  

Meanwhile, Montgomery County issued….Read more