Bangor city councilors met for nearly three hours this week to hear public testimony and discuss a proposed tenants' rights ordinance.
But the debate could preview bigger challenges ahead as some state lawmakers seek to implement similar measures for renters across the state.
Under the Bangor ordinance, landlords would be required to give their tenants at least 60 days' notice of any rent increase. And the measure would limit the kinds of fees that landlords can collect from prospective tenants.
City councilors said the measure is intended to address housing insecurity and better protect those like Bangor resident Liana Fellis, whose condo building had recently been sold to a new owner.
"The person came to my condo to check it out and said, 'Wow you've taken really good care of this; we'd like to increase your rent $600 to $700 a month.' And I said that's not possible; that's a paycheck for me," Fellis told the city council. "I'm a single mother."
But local landlords said they believe those stories are relatively uncommon, and most rent increases are modest to cover the rising costs of providing heat, maintenance and basic repairs.
"You have insurances that you need, your HOAs, your radon testing, your propane, your oil, your electricity, appliances and your repair and maintenance and upkeep," said Emily Ellis, a local real estate broker. "It's an investment at the end of the day, and I think a lot of people in this room make a very modest income from their investment."
The Bangor ordinance may go before the city council for another vote next week.
But some Bangor councilors acknowledged they were still wrestling with certain details.
As the ordinance is currently written, landlords could charge a "screening fee," up to $75, to cover the costs of performing a criminal background, employment or reference check, but only to applicants who have been accepted to rent the unit. The provision was intended to prevent prospective tenants from having to pay multiple application and screening fees during their search for housing, and to keep those costs low for economically-disadvantaged people.
But landlords argued that the measure would require them to incur extra costs to screen those applicants who ultimately aren't accepted to rent.
State lawmakers, meanwhile, have several bills of their own that could provide similar or even broader protections for all Mainers. One bill proposes additional rights for tenants whose landlord tries to raise rent in violation of Maine's current law requiring a 45-day notice.
Another bill could require that landlords give at least 90 days' notice of a rent increase, instead of the usual 45.
