Housing advocates propose ballot question to bring rent control back to Mass.
Housing advocates said Wednesday that they plan to collect signatures this fall to put the measure on the ballot. Language they plan to file with the state Attorney General's office on Wednesday would limit annual rent hikes statewide to the cost of living increase measured by the Consumer Price Index, with a maximum cap of 5%.
'Right now, there's no limit to how much rent can increase every year, so corporate real estate investors are increasingly buying up homes in our communities, hiking rents astronomically, and evicting anyone who can't afford to pay,' said Denise Matthews-Turner, executive director of City Life/Vida Urbana, one of the groups organizing the effort, in a press release. 'Rent stabilization is the missing solution to our state's housing crisis.'
Read more: Housing advocates renew fight for rent stabilization in Massachusetts
The proposed ballot question includes exemptions for owner-occupied buildings with less than five units and for the first 10 years that a newly constructed building is open.
Rent control was banned in Massachusetts in 1994 by a ballot question. Renters, advocates and legislators have repeatedly tried to reinstate it without success.
A previous effort to get rent stabilization on the 2024 ballot was abandoned after its proponents failed to get enough signatures to qualify.
State Sen. Pat Jehlen, D-2nd Middlesex, Rep. Sam Montaño, D-15th Suffolk, and Rep. David Rogers, D-24th Middlesex, filed bills this session that would give cities and towns the option to implement rent stabilization locally, capping annual increases. Unlike the proposed ballot question, the bills would not institute rent control statewide.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median gross rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Massachusetts was $1,882 in 2023, up from $1,727 the year before and $1,381 in 2018.
Opponents of rent stabilization, including many members of the real state industry, say it would actually lead to higher rent costs because it would disincentivize housing production.
'The outcome will be fewer available units, deteriorated housing conditions and owners walking away from reinvestment in old housing stock that needs care,' said Boston-area landlord Tony Lopes during a State House hearing on Jehlen's bill last week. 'And it penalizes the small property owners who make up 60% or more of the commonwealth's rental market, including the immigrant and minority property owners who are seeking to get ahead.'
Supporters, however, disagree, saying rent stabilization is needed alongside more housing development to relieve the burden on renters who need help now.
The provision that would exempt new construction for the first 10 years is also meant to minimize any effect on development.
'Massive rent hikes are pushing seniors out of the homes they've lived in for decades, and making it impossible for young families to save money for a down payment on their first house,' said Noemi Ramos, executive director of New England Community Project, on Wednesday. 'As the state works to build more affordable housing over the coming years, we need rent stabilization to protect workers, families, and seniors from out-of-control housing costs today.'
Wednesday is the deadline for proposed ballot questions to be submitted to the Attorney General's office. Next, the proponents must collect 74,574 valid signatures by Nov. 19.
Once signatures are certified, the measure would be sent to the state Legislature, which may choose to enact it before it is added to the ballot. If the Legislature does not act on the petition by May 6, the petitioners must collect an additional 12,429 signatures by June 17 to finally place it on the ballot for the Nov. 3, 2026 election.
More on housing
Housing costs are out of control. In Boston, experts offer the 4 fastest ways to fix it
92 apartments planned for old former Probate Court site in Northampton
How Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren agreed on a sweeping housing package
Housing advocates renew fight for rent stabilization in Massachusetts
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