Housing Advocates Launch Rent Control Signature Collection Efforts Across State This Weekend
ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS — Hundreds of renters, homeowners, and housing advocates will hit the streets this weekend to gather signatures from voters in a coordinated kickoff to the campaign to stabilize rents in Massachusetts by limiting annual rent increases to no more than 5%.
Members of the broad coalition of grassroots housing justice groups, labor unions, and community and faith-based organizations behind the rent control ballot effort — now calling themselves the “Keep Massachusetts Home” campaign — will gather outside City Halls and grocery stores, at community festivals and parades, and in parks and public squares across the state to begin collecting more than 74,574 signatures this fall to place the modern rent stabilization ballot initiative on the 2026 ballot.
On Saturday, September 13 in Springfield, Worcester, Lynn, and Boston, local organizations will hold public signature gathering kick-off events to speak out about the urgent need for basic protections against excessive rent hikes and train hundreds of volunteers to begin collecting signatures.
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, 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 housing production and economic growth by applying rent limits to new construction only after a building’s first 10 years.
Last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell certified that the proposed rent stabilization ballot initiative meets the constitutional requirements to appear on the ballot, despite a failed challenge by several corporate real estate groups and right-wing legal organizations.
“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 and Chair of the Keep Massachusetts Home campaign. “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.”