Delaware Has No Rent Control and No Statewide Cap

Delaware's residential Landlord-Tenant Code in Title 25 contains no statewide rent cap or rent-stabilization program; the state regulates the timing and notice of increases, not their amount. No section of Title 25 expressly preempts local rent-control ordinances, so unlike states with explicit preemption (for example, Arizona), Delaware leaves the question open, but no city or county has adopted rent control. A 2024 proposal, House Bill 455, would have capped renewal increases at 5% (or 7% if the 36-month average CPI-U exceeded 5%), but it died in the House Housing Committee and never became law, so no percentage cap is in effect. For private residential tenancies, landlords must still give advance written notice before raising rent under the Code's notice provisions.

Because no statewide rent cap exists, there is no penalty for the amount of a rent increase; the only constraints are the lease terms and the Code's advance-notice requirements. No municipal rent-control ordinance is currently on the books to enforce against landlords.