02/05/2026
🚨 Massachusetts Rent Control: What Property Owners (and Renters) Need to Know
There’s a growing push for statewide rent control — and it’s important to understand what’s actually being proposed.
Under this ballot question, nearly every rental unit in Massachusetts would be covered — single-families, condos, small multi-families, big buildings — with no opt-out for cities or towns. Rent increases would be capped to CPI (historically averaging about 2.58%), regardless of rising taxes, insurance, or repair costs. Even more concerning: rents would never reset to market rate when a tenant moves out.
As someone who’s been in real estate and property management for over 30 years, I’ve seen firsthand what policies like this do to housing supply. When owners can’t maintain or improve properties and builders stop building, everyone loses — especially renters.
We don’t fix a housing shortage by restricting supply. We fix it by building more housing and removing barriers to construction.
If you own property, manage rentals, or care about the future of housing in Massachusetts, now is the time to pay attention.
