Biden administration says it wants to cap rent increases at 5% a year. Here's what to know.

The Biden administration is proposing a new way to keep rents around the U.S. from soaring: limit corporate landlords to annual rent increases of no more than 5%, or else they would lose a major tax break. 

The proposal comes as many households across the U.S. struggle to afford rents, which have surged 26% nationally since early 2020, according to a recent report from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Although costs for many items are easing as inflation cools, housing prices remain stubbornly high, rising 5.2% on an annual basis in June. 

The idea behind the plan is to push midsize and large landlords to curb rent increases, with the Biden administration blaming them for jacking up rents far beyond their own costs. That has resulted in corporate landlords enjoying "huge profits," the administration said in a statement.