April 25: Portland landlords launch campaign to drum up support for rent control referendum
In a recent article by Maine Public, Rep. David Boyer of Portland was interviewed and spoke about his campaign involvement. Rep. David Boyer notes in the article that the referendum "is a really common sense fix to alleviate the pressure that housing providers feel to raise the rent," and reduces the incentive to do so because housing providers know they will be able to bring their properties "to fair market value once a tenant voluntarily vacates."
Read the full article here.
April 25: Portland landlords rally in support of ballot measure to remove rental increase caps on eligible vacant units
On Tuesday night, the Campaign to Fix Rent Control held its campaign kick-off. "Landlords who support the measure say that it would allow them to bring their apartments up to market rate while protecting renters. They believe that removing the cap would discourage "no-cause evictions" and eliminate the need for yearly rent hikes during a renter's tenancy."
Read the full article here.
April 25: Crumbling former Bangor YMCA could be razed for new affordable apartments
Penobscot County commissioners met with Penquis, a community action organization, to discuss selling and turning the city's former YMCA building into affordable housing. The commissioners still need to meet with other interested parties.
Read the full article here.
April 26: Portland to remove homeless encampment off Marginal Way
The City of Portland is working to close a homeless encampment off Marginal Way in Portland. Riverside Street's new Homeless Services Center is at capacity, leaving no emergency shelter beds. Portland's emergency shelter assessment committee met Wednesday to discuss the Marginal Way encampment.
Read the full article here.
April 27: With few rentals available, states push local officials to allow more housing
In 2022 Maine was among the top states with the highest homelessness rates and lowest rental vacancy rates. Maine's rental vacancy rate was 4% last year, while the national average was 5.8%. Massachusetts had the lowest rental vacancy rate in the country at 2.8%, which "essentially means that no apartments are available, since a small percentage of apartments are always vacant for renovation or awaiting renters who have already signed a lease."
Read the full article here.
