In 2021, St. Paul voters passed one of the strongest rent stabilization policies in the country: a 3% cap on annual rent increases with no exceptions. It was a clear and decisive statement — renters deserve stability, and housing should be a human right, not a speculative asset. Now, some are push ing to permanently weaken that ordinance. They claim it’s scaring off developers, harming our housing supply, and stalling new construction. But the truth is far more complicated — and if we want real solutions, we need to be honest about what’s actually making it hard to build in St. Paul right now. Let’s start with the most immediate harm: The current proposal would exempt new construction from rent stabilization permanently. That creates a two-tier system — one set of protections for older buildings, none for the new ones. This paves the way for income-segregated neighborhoods, where wealthier tenants cluster in new high-rent buildings while low-income families are pushed farther out of sight and out of reach. I’m afraid my neighbors and I along University avenue will be in the latter. That’s not equitable growth. That’s exclusion by design. Developers know what’s really making it hard to build in St. Paul right now — and it’s not tenant protections. It’s the public-health and economic crises we’ve failed to address: rising homelessness, untreated addiction and an under-resourced mental health system. You can’t build high-demand housing on a corridor struggling with instability and neglect. Weakening rent stabilization won’t change the fact that any lobby or stairwell becomes a temporary warming shelter for our unhoused neighbors when the temperatures drop. It won’t bring a grocery store back to downtown either — an essential part of living in any part of our city. If we want investment in places like Snelling and University, we need to create the conditions for it — through care, not criminalization. Meanwhile, housing starts are down across the region, not just in St. Paul. Minneapolis doesn’t have rent stabilization, and they’re facing the same construction slowdown. Developers say interest rates are too high to get a meaningful return. When homebuilders do build, prospective buyers are hard pressed to move ahead because it’s still unaffordable. What has made a difference across the river are zoning reform and clear rules for permits and inspections. Minneapolis has simply enabled more small-scale, multi-family housing by easing restrictions. St. Paul, on the other hand, still allows single-family zoning to dominate much of the city — and opposition to single-resident occupancy, a form of shared housing, and four-plexes often blocks progress before it starts. It’s also easier to do business in Minneapolis when you’re playing by the rules. When major developers and do-it-yourselfers face the same challenges to get an inspection and a permit, we’re limiting development. It should be as easy to schedule an inspection as it is to schedule a haircut. I’ve spoken to contractors who refuse to do work in our city because of problems like these, whereas rent stabilization doesn’t even come up. We’re blaming rent stabilization for problems that stem from deeper systemic failures. That’s not just misleading — it’s a distraction from real, actionable reform. Let’s not forget: Voters approved rent stabilization in its original form. City leaders quickly rolled it back with carve-outs and exemptions. Those changes were unpopular and are still argued over today. Now, before we’ve even had a full evaluation of the program’s impact, the push is on to roll it back even further. Meanwhile, there’s no central database for residents to look up landlords, or understand the vacancy rate. The closest is the fire certificate of occupancy database, and even that isn’t perfect. There’s no one-stop shop for renters to learn about their rights in our city, or to help landlords meet the requirements to inform their tenants. Everyone gets a lead notice if required — nobody gets a rights notice, and that’s a policy failure the city needs to own. These are basic tools that residents and policymakers need to make smart decisions about policy in our city. We should be strengthening transparency and listening to residents — not undermining their vote. And if developers won’t build housing under fair rules, then let’s build it ourselves. Cities already bond for roads, parks, and libraries — there’s no reason we can’t invest in public, permanently affordable housing the same way. And we can do these things by reconsidering our city’s approach to taxes. Programs like Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) or land-value taxes are a way forward. But we don’t need to go far to see models we could start right now in our own city. Imagine mixed-income, accessible and welcome social housing built along transit lines — run by the city, not corporate landlords. This is already working in places like Dakota County, where the Community Development Agency has built successful, accountable housing without exploding municipal budgets. This isn’t pie-in-the-sky stuff — it’s a short drive away if you want to see it for yourself. St. Paul’s future depends on telling the truth about what’s holding us back — and having the courage to act on it. Weakening rent stabilization won’t fix our development challenges. It will only make our city less fair, less affordable, and less just. We don’t need to abandon rent control. We need to stand by it, and pair it with the real changes that will make housing more available, more equitable, and more democratic. Cole Hanson, a public-health worker, renter on University Avenue and longtime neighborhood organizer, is a candidate for the St. Paul City Council seat representing Ward 4. The special election for that seat is scheduled for Aug. 12. Related Articles Letters: Only Republicans can stop the chaos and security risk Skywatch: Out with the hunter. In with the Lion. Your Money: The 60-year career: How to plan for a longer work life Working Strategies: Navigating part-time jobs at a professional level Joe Soucheray: Any way you cut it, that Signal chat was amateur hour ...read more read less