At next week’s City Council meeting, College Park will consider adopting Ordinance 25-O-13, a targeted update to the City’s housing regulations aimed at creating clearer, fairer timelines for lease renewal communications between landlords and tenants. This proposal responds directly to concerns raised by renters — including students, young professionals, families, and long-term residents — who have reported pressure to make binding housing decisions months before they realistically can.
One of the core problems the ordinance seeks to address is the practice of landlords requesting lease renewals or early commitments far in advance of when tenants know their plans. Some renters in College Park have been asked to decide on renewing a lease close to a year early, creating uncertainty around jobs, internships, school schedules, and life changes. The ordinance focuses narrowly on communication timing — not rent amounts, lease terms, or eviction protections — ensuring transparency and predictability without dictating business terms.
Under the proposed ordinance, landlords would be required to notify current tenants in writing whether they intend to offer a renewal or issue a non-renewal notice within a defined window before the lease expires. Specifically, landlords cannot make renewal offers earlier than 180 days before the current lease term ends, and tenants would have a reasonable period to consider, sign, and return a renewal agreement once made. The formal ordinance also outlines procedural steps once a tenant accepts, including timelines for presenting and countersigning the renewal lease, ensuring both parties have clear and enforceable obligations.
The policy is grounded in fairness and transparency, designed to reduce the uncertainty that many College Park renters experience in a highly competitive housing market. By focusing solely on the timing of communication — when landlords must offer or deny renewal — the ordinance balances the needs of tenants for stability and advance notice with the rights of property owners to manage their leasing cycles predictably. City staff analysis and prior Council discussions show this approach was selected after reviewing other municipal models and intentionally avoiding broader, more controversial restrictions on lease terms or termination grounds.