S 2703Property

Towns and Cities - Property Tax/rent Freeze Bill

If a town limits rent increases, it is prohibited from raising property taxes on those rental units.

Introduced

Population
Affected

Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This legislation establishes a restriction on cities and towns regarding property taxes. Specifically, if a municipality passes a local law (ordinance) that limits how much a landlord can increase rent (commonly known as rent control), that municipality is then prohibited from raising property tax rates or increasing the assessed value of those rental properties. This tax freeze remains in effect for as long as the rent control ordinance is active. The law applies to various types of rental housing, including apartments, condos, and single-family homes.

For younger readers

This bill makes a new rule for cities and towns. Sometimes, a town might make a law that says building owners are not allowed to raise the rent for people living there. If a town does this, this bill says the town is not allowed to raise the taxes the building owner has to pay. The town can only raise the taxes if they let the owner raise the rent again. It basically says if the town freezes the price of rent, they must also freeze the taxes on that building.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

LandlordsTenantsMunicipal GovernmentsProperty ManagersHomeowners

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Could potentially encourage landlords to accept rent stabilization measures if they have the assurance that their tax burden will not increase while their income is restricted.
Protects small-scale property owners and local landlords from being priced out of ownership by rising taxes, helping to keep housing ownership within the community rather than with large corporations.
May help stabilize overall housing costs by removing property tax hikes as a justification for landlords attempting to bypass rent control or evict tenants to renovate.
Punishes municipalities that try to protect tenants with rent control by stripping the town of the ability to raise necessary revenue through property taxes on those buildings.
Acts as a strong deterrent against passing rent control laws, effectively blocking progressive housing reforms because towns will fear losing funding for schools and services.
Could lead to underfunded public services in lower-income areas where rent control is most needed, as the tax base would be frozen despite inflation or rising costs.

For Conservatives

Protects property owners from the financial squeeze of having their rental income capped by the government while simultaneously facing uncapped, rising tax bills.
Disincentivizes local governments from interfering in the free market with rent control mandates by imposing a direct financial penalty on the municipal budget.
Prevents the government from profiting via higher tax assessments on businesses that the government itself has regulated and restricted.
Implicitly accepts the existence of rent control ordinances as a valid government action, rather than banning the practice of price-fixing entirely.
Interferes with the principles of local home rule by dictating how municipalities must manage their own tax assessments and budgets.
Could unfairly shift the local tax burden onto single-family homeowners to make up for the revenue shortfall caused by the freeze on rental property taxes.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 12 additions

SECTION 1. Title 45 of the General Laws entitled "TOWNS AND CITIES" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 45-71-1. Property tax increase prohibited.

(a) Any city or town that adopts an ordinance limiting the right of a property owner, property manager, or landlord to increase rent prices on a rental unit shall be prohibited from increasing property tax rates or reassessing property values on affected rental units for as long as the ordinance limiting rental increases remains in effect.

(b) The prohibition against increasing property tax rates or reassessing property values established in this section shall remain in effect only in taxable years in which a city or town maintains an adopted ordinance limiting the right of a property owner, property manager, or landlord to increase rent prices on a rental unit.

(c) For the purpose of this section “rental unit” means any part of a housing accommodation rented or offered for rent for residential occupancy, including apartments, rooms, condominiums, single-family homes, or manufactured homes.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.