Rent Stabilization Ballot Language Approved by Attorney General

Housing advocates will begin collecting signatures to place statewide protections against excessive rent hikes on 2026 ballot

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell today certified that a proposed ballot initiative to stabilize rents across Massachusetts meets the constitutional requirements to appear on the ballot.

A broad coalition of grassroots housing justice groups, labor unions, and community and faith-based organizations will now begin collecting more than 74,574 signatures this fall to place the rent stabilization ballot initiative on the 2026 ballot, giving voters the opportunity to limit annual rent increases in Massachusetts to no more than 5%.

“Whether we own or rent, everyone in Massachusetts should be able to afford a place to call home. But right now, there is no limit to how much rents can increase each year. Corporate real estate investors are taking advantage of this gap in our laws to buy up homes and double rents overnight, threatening the basic fabric of our neighborhoods,” said Noemi “Mimi” Ramos, Executive Director of New England Community Project. “Massachusetts needs basic protections against excessive rent hikes to keep people in their homes, support working families, and stabilize our communities. By coming together to win modern rent stabilization, we can keep Massachusetts home for all of us.”

“I can’t wait to start collecting signatures from my neighbors to put rent stabilization on the ballot,” said Betty Lewis, a Mattapan tenant. “All across Massachusetts, high rents are displacing people from our communities, or making them work multiple jobs just to pay the rent. When rent can go up by hundreds of dollars overnight, seniors are forced to put off their retirement, and young people and families can’t save money for the dream of owning a home. My neighbors and I need stable rents so we can all keep calling Massachusetts home!”

The ballot initiative, An Initiative Petition to Protect Tenants by Limiting Rent Increases, would limit annual rent increases in Massachusetts to the cost of living (as measured by the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index), with a cap at 5%. For an apartment that costs $2,000 per month, that means an annual increase in monthly rent of no more than $100/month.

The limit on rent increases would continue to apply when new renters move in, meaning rent could not be drastically increased between tenants. The ballot initiative would support small landlords, not big corporations, by exempting owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units. And it would encourage continued housing production to address housing shortages, by applying rent limits to new construction after a building’s first 10 years.