A controversial plan to freeze rentals in Markham, Illinois, has residents in disagreement with city leaders, who said the housing market in their town needs to be improved.

Potential renters will not be able to lease a home as the council voted to put a rental moratorium in place for at least another year. 

City leaders said the move will curb the high turnover in neighborhoods. Investors, however, said it could cause a bigger problem.

On Wednesday night, with a unanimous vote, the Markham City Council moved forward to block all new renters who are looking to move into single-family homes.

"We believe that property would not be as transient and would not have the turnover, it would be consistent and stable," Mayor Roger Agpawa said.

City records showed 19% of the homes in Markham have renters. Agpawa said they need to get that number down to 10% to stabilize the future of the city—adding turnover is just too much with renters in homes.

"We've got a lot of long-term renters here. Well, stay here, and this will never affect you," he said.

Current renters can renew their leases, but no landlord will be able to offer new leases on single-family homes. 

City leaders want to see more signs where homes are for sale, but investors said  Markham is not that desirable to buy in currently.

"We want to have investors to rehab those properties and get them back on the tax rolls. It's hard to sell properties when they're boarded-up houses up and down the block," one speaker said.

Landlords spoke out about the adverse effect the freeze could have on them, but it's not just about the owners of the properties.

"But it's also preventing people from accessing this housing, and it's very concerning," said Nora Gruenberg, the government affairs director with the Illinois Realtors.

"Many people can't get a mortgage, but they're still able to pay rent, so this is preventing people from accessing housing they can afford in communities they want to live in," she said.

Mayor Agpawa said what's happening in Markham is not new anywhere. Time will tell if the rental moratorium will bring in more homeowners, drive renters away, or create more vacant homes.