The College Park City Council will hold a public hearing next week on a proposed ordinance that would restrict when landlords can ask tenants to renew their leases.

The legislation, known as the Early Lease Ordinance, aims to protect renters from pressure to re-sign a lease months before knowing their housing plans for the next year.

Under the ordinance, landlords would be prohibited from offering a lease renewal earlier than 180 days after the start of the tenant’s current lease, which falls around March for many renters.

Tenants would then have at least 30 days to accept the offer. After a tenant agrees to renew, the landlord would have 30 days to provide the lease for them to review, and both the tenant and landlord would then have 10 days each to sign and return it.

Additionally, landlords would be prohibited from showing the unit to prospective tenants or renting it to someone else for a subsequent lease period until 210 days into the current lease, unless they can show good cause not to offer a renewal.

[Holly Simmons, Kelly Jordan win District 2 College Park City Council seats]

College Park student liaison Nick DiSpirito and deputy student liaison Amira Abujuma spearheaded the proposal, which was modeled after a similar policy adopted in 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home to the University of Michigan.

Because student liaisons can’t formally introduce legislation, they worked with District 3 council member John Rigg, who presented the idea at a September work session. The council voted unanimously to draft the ordinance during that meeting.

Some landlords in College Park currently ask tenants to commit for the next school year just weeks after moving in, DiSpirito said, making pressure to re-sign their lease an “almost universal” experience for renters.

“I was asked, I believe, last year, in the start of December, which is still pretty early,” he said. “By then, I didn’t know what my classes were going to look like next year, or potential internships or jobs. And like many landlords in this situation, not to fault them either, but there were a lot of phone calls almost every single day to re-sign.”

As students make up the bulk of the city’s population, DiSpirito said they are disproportionately affected by renting policies.

Many first-time renters, in particular, are vulnerable to pressure from landlords because they aren’t aware of their rights or alternatives, he said.

Former student liaisons Gannon Sprinkle and Dhruvak Mirani discussed the possibility of an early lease ordinance when they founded the College Park Tenant’s Union in 2023, Sprinkle said, though the topic was never formally discussed with the council.

He said it was one of the few issues on which they heard no opposition from students.

“Affordable housing, tenants’ rights and an equitable renters’ market was something that was near 100 percent,” he said. “I’m not even sure we’ve talked to one person who disagreed with us.”

[16, 17-year-olds vote in College Park election for first time in city history]

Sprinkle added he hoped people recognize that the ordinance is an “effective and equitable policy” that will benefit all College Park residents.

But at the city council meeting on Oct. 21, landlord Richard Biffl spoke out against the ordinance. He said students themselves often push to sign leases early so they can secure housing for the next year as soon as possible.

“Usually, my tenants are seniors, and they’re not planning to renew anyway. If a group of juniors is interested in the fall for the next year, that’s great,” Biffl said. “I don’t think there should be any impediment to that.”

He added landlords already have strong incentives to retain existing tenants, citing the cost of preparing units for new renters under Maryland’s lead inspection law.

The University of Maryland SGA passed a resolution in October in support of the ordinance.

DiSpirito said the ordinance could also help improve housing affordability by giving renters more time to explore more options before feeling forced to sign early.

“It really eliminates the option of choice, freedom of choice, when you don’t have the ability to see other areas of the city that might be more affordable for you, or maybe another part of the city that’s closer to some of your classes,” he said.

If approved, College Park would become the first city in Maryland with such a policy, DiSpirito added.

The public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers at College Park City Hall.