Rent control measure stirs criticism, support at Holyoke event

HOLYOKE — A coalition opposing a proposed rent control ballot measure urged Bay Staters to vote against the initiative at a press conference Wednesday, but some unexpected guests showed up as well.

Landlords, real estate developers and Holyoke elected officials stood on one side of the room at the Divine Theater, while on the other side, a group of protesters stood demanding “rent control now” and urging residents to vote “yes.”

“This is not your father’s rent control. It is so much worse,” said Chairman of Housing for Massachusetts Conor Yunits, about the rent control ballot measure at the press conference. “It is poorly written, poorly tried-out policy that will do lasting damage to housing in Massachusetts.”

A debate has been simmering over rent control in Massachusetts since a ballot measure was proposed last year, that if approved, would be on the 2026 State Election ballot. Housing for Massachusetts, a coalition formed to oppose the ballot measure, organized the event in Holyoke, one of several planned across the state.

In fact, the coalition has filed a lawsuit against the ballot initiative in the Supreme Judicial Court in Suffolk County, claiming it conflicts with constitutional protections for property owners. The measure was certified to have 88,132 valid signatures — more than enough — as of December, but now must go through the state Legislature.

Yunits said everyone wants the same thing — manageable housing costs for all — but the ballot measure is not the answer.

“Everyone here is concerned about housing,” Yunits said. “We know there is an affordability crisis, and that’s why many of us have been working with the governor, with the Legislature, with mayors, with city councilors, policy leaders for years to build more housing.”

He said it will cause significant damage to housing production, drive landlords out of business and have significant long-term economic impacts. In December, Gov. Maura Healey said she would vote “no” on the measure.

The measure would limit annual rent increases for most units to either the annual Consumer Price Index increase or 5%, whichever is lower. It would apply to the entire state and use the rents in place as of Jan. 31, 2026 as a baseline for landlords.

Exemptions would apply for owner-occupied buildings with fewer than five units, facilities where rent is regulated by other public authorities, units occupied for less than 10 years and others.

Yunits said the solution for housing affordability is to increase production, citing Austin, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona where housing costs are decreasing because production is increasing.

With the ballot measure, Yunits said there would be a waterfall effect — rents will be capped, leading to difficulties raising property values and then properties will provide less tax revenues to municipalities.

Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said he agreed that the ballot measure is not the answer to housing affordability, particularly for gateway cities like Holyoke.

“Here in Holyoke and in other gateway cities, we face big city challenges with small town revenue …” Garcia said. “We need thoughtful, valid solutions, not policies that are risky for communities already working hard to rebuild.”

Garcia pointed toward a protester at the back of the room with a sign that said “the rent is wicked high,” saying that is true. But he said the real question is “how do we work together to establish better rent control?”

In Massachusetts, there are currently two main ways rent control or stabilization could come to fruition in the near future. The first is through the ballot measure, which would reverse a 1994 vote that banned rent control, and the second is through sister legislative bills, S.1447 and H.2328.

Protest organizer Katie Talbot said after the press conference she is still not convinced by the coalition’s stance. “We need rent control and we need to take it to the ballot.”

She will still be voting “yes” if the question makes the ballot because she knows too many renters who have been displaced by rising rents, saying something needs to be done now.

In an interview with the Gazette, state Rep. Homar Gómez, D-Easthampton, said he understands tenants’ sense of urgency to pass rent control through the ballot measure because many who come from marginalized populations have been hit with steep, unfair rent increases. He said rent control needs to particularly ward off rent hikes from “corporate landlords.”

He said it is taking time for steps to be made on the State House bills due to traffic from many other proposals in front of legislators, but he said he and his colleagues hope to make progress. As for the ballot measure, he said he will likely “vote yes” because there needs to be control soon.

Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, an Easthampton city councilor at-large and public policy researcher, believes stabilization through local opt-in options, similar to the State House bills, would be a more productive policy than the ballot measure. But he is still in favor of the ballot measure.

“As someone who studies housing markets, this [the ballot measure] will have a disparate effect on communities across the state and something like this is going to give pause to affordable housing financers and the way affordable housing projects are financed,” Jamrog-McQuaid said.

Jamrog-McQuaid said there are instances of rent control and stabilization that are implemented in many communities that can be used effectively, such as the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019. He summarized the law as a rent regulation option in which cities can opt in and set minimum requirements with a maximum rent increase percentage of 10%.

Similar laws are implemented in cities like South Portland, Maine, and St. Paul, Minnesota, and in states like New Jersey and Oregon, which are effective, Jamrog-McQuaid said.

Ultimately, he believes giving municipalities the option to shape their own policies could be more effective than a statewide rent control option. He cited the Easthampton Rent Study Committee, which is exploring home-rule petition options.

Holyoke landlord Jo Landers is one of many landlords who have seen steep cost increases in recent years. With rent control measures looming, whether it is through a bill on Beacon Hill or a ballot measure, Landers is fearful, opposing the ballot measure.

“I’m just really concerned the state is going to turn it into a situation where there are no small landlords anymore,” Landers said, who manages five residential units in Holyoke and a separate accounting business.

Landers said her property taxes have been increasing approximately 15 to 20% a year since the COVID-19 pandemic, and insurance rose by 30% this past year.

David Boyle, co-owner of A-Z Properties, which owns 70 units across five complexes in Easthampton, said his insurance costs have doubled since 2016. He said affordability as a landlord became particularly challenging after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We want lower vacancies and we’re not trying to build up a portfolio that’s got crazy high rents,” Boyle said about his business. “We live in a small town and we get to know our tenants and we try to take care of them the best we can.”

He said no matter what, costs are going to continue to rise for landlords across three main categories — insurance, property taxes and utilities. Good landlords, Boyle says, will estimate their cost increases and then tell their tenants that there will be periodic rent increases so there is mutual understanding.

“The ballot measure, I’m not happy with. They’re kind of going retroactive in a sense, they wanted 2026 to be the benchmark,” Boyle said about the measure.

Similarly, Landers said with the measure using rents as of Jan. 31, 2026, as a baseline, she felt pressured to raise her tenants’ rents, which she said are still 20% below market rate, before that date.

“Everybody (my tenants) got rent increases for January because of the way that this law was written, if it passes,” Landers said.

Boyle said steep rent increases for tenants are a serious problem. He said there are many “predatory” landlords who run housing for profit.

“When you’re a landlord that operates as a small farmer would, you take care of things, you stay consistent and don’t push them [tenants],” Boyle said.

Additionally, Landers said the ballot measure would limit “vacancy decontrol” for landlords, meaning that when a vacancy occurs, landlords must keep rent the same as it was before vacancy. Landers and Boyle both said this is problematic.

Without vacancy decontrol, Landers said she would not be able to bring the unit closer to market rate, resulting in her having to raise rents of her other longtime tenants.

Landers is a member of the MassLandlords Association, which has been active in pushing against rent control. Executive Director Douglas Quattrochi cited Cambridge as an example where rent control failed, before the 1994 ban.

“Long term, you need to create a lot more housing; short term, you have to have some kind of stabilizing assistance,” Quattrochi said about a solution.

Quattrochi said he has known many members of the association who have had to increase rents because of the upcoming measure, like Landers. Along with the housing crisis, he said, the climate crisis also is having an impact from increasing severe weather events, driving insurance rates higher for landlords.

Quattrochi said contrary to what many think, cities and towns can opt into rent control through Chapter 40P of state law. The law requires landlords and towns to opt in and for municipalities to compensate landlords for the difference between the controlled rent and the market rent.

Jamrog-McQuaid said as far as he knows, no municipality has opted into rent control through Chapter 40P. He called it an “incomprehensible” public policy because it is completely voluntary and extremely restricted, serving as a “regressive tax giveaway to property owners.”

Jamrog-McQuaid said the housing crisis is inherently complicated, being part of a larger economic web involving insurance, tax and utility dynamics, and is not as simple as a landlords versus tenants debate. Historically, he said, housing also has been treated as a “wealth building commodity,” that has put the market at a disadvantage. But a well-regulated market is achievable.

“The debate is, our interests are not ultimately misaligned,” Jamrog-McQuaid said about all parties involved. “We can all agree that if we’re going to provide housing through a market, the market should be well regulated and healthy,” eliminating bad actors and incorporating policy regulation.

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