Massachusetts rent control ballot campaign fails, organizer says

A campaign to place a rent control question on the 2024 ballot has failed, as it faced a near impossible task of collecting the required amount of signatures within the next two weeks.

The initiative had collected roughly 10,175 signatures over the past six weeks, far short of the 74,574 required by Nov. 22 for the question to advance in the process, according to state Rep. Mike Connolly, who organized the effort.

The Cambridge Democrat announced the development on Friday night, much to the delight of groups who argued that the measure shouldn’t be placed on the ballot.

The proposal looked to allow municipalities to regulate residential evictions, rents and fees, broker fees, and the removal of housing units from the rental market.

Connolly said his group, of more than 500 elected officials, individuals and organizations, suggested it band together with Homes for All Massachusetts, a statewide housing justice coalition, to collect the required signatures and then decide how the question should proceed.

“In the meantime, we could use the petition as an organizing tool and as a point of leverage with the legislature,” Connolly said in his Friday update. “That would have afforded us more flexibility and a bigger opportunity for winning rent control right now. But it was not to be.”

Homes for All Massachusetts “maintained that rent control cannot win at the ballot box in 2024, and they publicly demanded that we withdraw our petition,” Connolly added.

But in a statement provided to the Herald, Homes for All indicated the coalition is not totally opposed to putting a rent control question on the ballot at some point in future.

“We are focused on advancing our priorities in the Legislature this session to address this urgent crisis,” the coalition said, “and if the Legislature does not act in a timely manner, we will continue to build the statewide campaign for rent control through both legislative and ballot strategies over the next few years.”

Bringing rent control back to the Bay State has been a battle advocates have fought since 1994, when residents voted to ban it.

Supporters of the measure say it will help renters who are struggling to keep up with surging prices in the state’s largest cities. But landlords argue they too are trying to make ends meet amid increased prices and taking away rent increases hurts their business.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell in September certified more than 30 voter initiatives, which meant they passed an initial technical and constitutional review. Those that received the green light need to gather 74,574 signatures before Nov. 22 to advance.

Five different groups submitted legal challenges to Connolly’s rent control ballot question.

Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance applauded Connolly for suspending his “disastrous idea,” saying the “ballot question would have done nothing but make life more expensive and miserable for property owners and renters alike.”

“Massachusetts property owners and renters should wake up this morning knowing that their futures are better off,” the group posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Saturday morning. “Rent control does not work, it would only stop new housing development, particularly new affordable multi-family housing & put a complete halt in maintenance & upkeep.”

Connolly’s proposed question would not have applied to newly constructed dwelling units for which the residential certificate of occupancy was obtained for the first time 15 years ago or less; two or three-family owner-occupied units; hotels or motels “which are rented primarily to transient guests for a period of less than” two weeks; publicly-owned housing; and public institutions of higher education, among others.

With the question in the rearview mirror, Connolly has shifted his attention to the Tenant Protection Act, a bill he said the ballot petition was modeled on. The proposed legislation along with several other landlord-tenant related bills will be addressed during a hearing Tuesday at the State House.

“While this isn’t the outcome we hoped for with our petition,” he said, “I am more confident than ever that if given the opportunity to do so, Massachusetts voters will elect to lift the ban on rent control.”

Tuesday’s hearing will include Boston’s home rule petition, a major priority for Mayor Michelle Wu that would cap year-over-year rent hikes at 6% plus consumer price index increases, to a max of 10%. The rule would carve out exemptions for new construction and small landlords, as well as strengthening protections against evictions.

In Somerville, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne submitted draft legislation to the City Council last week proposing a home rule petition to allow rent stabilization. One provision would place a yearly cap on rent increases limited to the rate of inflation plus 2% totaling no more than 5% in any year.

“We are facing a regional housing crisis, and we all know that losing stable housing completely upends people’s lives and that of their children,” Ballantyne said in a statement. “Our duty here is clear. We must use every available tool to help keep residents in their homes. Rent stabilization works, so we are pursuing it thoughtfully with our whole community in mind.”