Renters and tenant advocates rally outside the Massachusetts House of Representatives on July 29, 2025 calling for action to overturn the statewide ban on rent control. Photo by Chris Lisinski | State House News Service
The organization that represents community development corporations in Massachusetts is urging approval of a compromise proposal that could avert a statewide vote on rent control, saying it would ensure a continuing pipeline of affordable housing.
Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations CEO Emily Haber said the proposal protects renters’ rights while setting conditions enabling developers to build new housing.
“You have to make sure that any legislation that gets passed would not harm development in the state,” Haber said. “We believe that is true for what is in the compromise legislation.”
The pro-rent control Homes for All Coalition submitted the new legislation this week including several key changes from the version that could go to voters at a statewide ballot question in November.
It would only be enacted in communities that opt in, as opposed to the statewide mandate in the ballot question version.
And it would allow rent increases up to a maximum of 10 percent, tied to inflation, and exempt new construction for 15 years, rather than 10 years in the previous version.
Haber said the more than 60 CDCs that build affordable and mixed-income housing in Massachusetts are wary about changes that would make new projects harder to finance.
“We know we need more housing, and the sense is that this compromise legislation will allow for strong tenant protections, and it will not de-incentivize development,” Haber said.
Landlord Group Urges Opposition
But a group that represents small landlords reiterated its opposition to the new version, saying it still would impose financial hardships on property owners.
The compromise would allow annual rent increases at the Consumer Price Index plus 5 percent or a maximum 10 percent, whichever is lower. The most recent CPI reading for Greater Boston, taken in April, was 2.9 percent.
Chris Lehman, director of the Small Property Owners Association, said the CPI doesn’t closely track landlords’ rising costs for insurance, property taxes, utilities and maintenance.
“Those are many of the biggest line items on a budget,” Lehman said.
The compromise bill allows cities and towns to establish boards to review applications from landlords to seek surcharges or rent increases “for certain extraordinary capital improvements or tax increases”.
“Most landlords who were around the last time we had rent control [until 1994] can tell you rent control boards are hugely time-consuming and a massive level of bureaucracy,” Lehman said.
The compromise version was worked out following discussions with several major landlords including The HYM Investment Group, WinnCompanies and Lupoli Companies, along with the MACDC.
SPOA President Amir Shahsavari said in an email that members are dealing with steep increases in operating costs, including hikes in utility bills and property insurance rates approaching 40 percent.
The compromise bill would make it harder to overturn rent control in the future, Shahsavari said, because changes to local ordinances would require a supermajority vote.
“It is our coalition’s position that this creates a deliberately high bar to amend the agreement at a later time based upon the current proposal,” Shahsavari wrote.
A spokesman for the Homes for All Coalition said today that discussions are continuing.
