BOSTON — In a hearing at the State House Tuesday, renters, housing advocates, and union members voiced their support for legislation addressing the escalating housing crisis in Massachusetts. The push for rent control comes on the heels of the recent failure of attempts to include it as a ballot question in the 2024 elections, prompting advocates to testify in favor of ‘An Act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants (S.1299 / H.2103).’

According to a press release by Homes for All Mass, a statewide formation of grassroots housing justice groups, the proposed legislation seeks to empower cities and towns to implement locally-needed rent stabilization. 

The legislation proposes limiting rent increases to the inflation rate, capping them at 5%. Exemptions would be made for owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units and new construction for five years.

Additionally, the legislation aims to protect tenants by prohibiting no-fault evictions and providing clarity on legal reasons for eviction. Lynn City Councilor At-Large Nicole McClain highlighted the impact of rising housing costs on communities, citing personal examples of residents being forced out of their neighborhoods due to unaffordable rents.

“People all over our city are struggling with impossible rent increases,” McClain said in the press release. “Too many of our residents are getting pushed out of their neighborhoods. The skyrocketing costs of housing in Lynn forced my son and his family to leave the security of their support system and move to Springfield with a newborn child. Local government needs tools such as rent control to protect our residents from this kind of displacement.” 

McClain emphasized the urgency of implementing rent control to address housing insecurity immediately, stressing that further waiting could result in more residents being displaced. 

“Rent control is the only housing policy that can have the immediate impact needed to relieve the stress housing insecurity is heaping on our community,” McClain said in the press release. “Every day that we wait, even more neighbors are forced out of their homes and our community.”

According to the press release, housing costs are surging at unsustainable rates across the Commonwealth, increasing eviction filings and surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The rise in rents, coupled with a doubling of no-fault evictions from 2019 to 2022, has fueled the call for legislative action to stabilize rents and protect tenants.