What’s at stake this November?

In November 2022, the Fairfax Town Council passed two laws establishing rent stabilization (rent control) and just cause evictions.

The current law caps annual rent increases at 75% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Last year the maximum allowable rent increase was 2.52%. For the average three-bedroom household in Fairfax, which is $5,000 per month, this works out to $125 per month. Without the current law, landlords could raise the rent by 10%, or up to $500 per month. That’s simply out of reach for most working families.

It prohibits arbitrary displacement by requiring all evictions to be for a just cause.
It requires landlords to make relocation payments to tenants equal to two months rent if those tenants were evicted due to no fault of their own.
It establishes a “right of return” for tenants, requiring landlords to offer vacant units back to their former tenants if those tenants were evicted due to no fault of their own.
It provides additional protections against eviction for tenants who are elderly, disabled, or terminally-ill, in addition to tenants who are teachers or students during the school year.