TAMPA -- The city of Tampa is one step closer to a 60-day rent freeze.
Tampa City Council has passed the first reading of an ordinance to require notice before raising the price on a lease. Councilman Guido Maniscalco is a renter, and says he understands people's concerns. "I'm a renter... we're up for renewal in June. I don't know what our rent is going up to... it could go up to 400, 600 dollars a month."
The measure also includes a 30-day notice requirement on month-to-month rentals. Russ Webb, executive director of the Bay Area Apartment Association, called that impractical, saying that it would have the unintended consequence of making it almost impossible for tenants to give notice in the same month, putting them on the hook for another month's rent.
Tenants groups had asked for a 90-day notice, and the original proposal called for as much as six months notice, but council and the landlords' association say those timelines would violate state law. A final vote on the ordinance is expected May 19th.
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