Advocates gather in Providence protesting evictions, demanding rent freeze

PROVDIENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Housing advocates gathering outside of eviction court in Providence Wednesday evening, calling on the city of Providence to freeze rents as housing costs continue to soar.

Rental costs across the city are up nearly 10% in the past year and continue to rise every month in the city. That’s according to Zillow’s rental data, which breaks down the average rental costs in cities across the country.

Here in Providence, the median rental sits around $2,100.

“How do we expect tenants to make it without any tenant protections? And how do we expect them to survive unsheltered?” asked one protestor.

“Right now, Rhode Island rental prices are as high as Rhode Island mortgage prices. How do people survive?” the protestor continued.

The pandemic played a major role in rising rental costs, as rental prices between 2020 and 2022 rose nearly 25% on average.

But as we’ve moved further away from the pandemic, rents are staying high, and with more than 6,000 evictions filed in the last year, it’s costing people their homes.

“Where’s the answers? What are these mothers, single mothers who are working to try and raise their children? What are we supposed to do now? Where are the answers, I still have none. And still don’t have a place to live with my children that’s healthy and affordable,” exclaimed another protester during the event.

In 2023, Zillow’s data shows a median rent of $2,100 and a market rate sitting around $2,200 in the city.

Both of those numbers are above the national average for rentals which sits at approximately $2,000 per month, and renters are looking to the city for help.

“People don’t want to see people out on the street, people don’t want to have to pay more for housing. So basically, those three demands: rent stabilization in the long run, an immediate kind of halt to rent increases in the short run, and then, long-term provisions of adequate public housing,” explained Mike King with Providence Organization of Workers and Renters.

The last eviction freeze in Providence was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC 6 News reached out to Providence Mayor Brett Smiley regarding the protest and according to his office, the city has invested $4.3M in housing solutions in the past year, with nearly $2M additionally expected in the next year.