Boston Mayor Michelle Wu sent a strong signal that she does not support a proposed ballot question that would limit rent increases on most Massachusetts apartments to 5% or less.
“I wish that the ballot initiative had been just a pure local option, repeal the ban on cities taking action and let each city do what they need to do,,” Wu said on GBH’s Boston Public Radio. “Because conditions can be quite different in each municipality depending on your local economy, and the mix of commercial, residential and all that.”
Under the proposal, the cap would be 5% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever was lower. It would not apply to certain categories of apartments, including owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units and construction that is less than 10 years old. The latter concession is aimed at ensuring that the production of new housing continues at a time when the supply of affordable housing in Massachusetts far outpaces demand.
“It is quite restrictive, and we do need to be at the right balance between not chilling or preventing housing production while we are keeping people in their homes as we try to boost the supply and create more housing,” Wu added.
Rent control is currently illegal in Massachusetts after being narrowly banned in a ballot question vote in 1994.
Wu has been a staunch advocate of rent control for the city of Boston, and in 2023, she filed a home rule petition with the Massachusetts Legislature, which has the authority to exempt Boston from the state’s blanket restriction.
That proposal would have been more lax than the statewide measure currently being pushed by advocates. In addition to applying only to Boston, it would have limited rent increases to 10% or the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index plus 6%, whichever is lower. It would also have carved out more exemptions for small landlords and new construction.
Wu’s proposal for Boston was never passed by the Legislature, however.
State Rep. Mike Connolly, a representative for Cambridge and Somerville, previously attempted to place a question that would have allowed individual municipalities to implement rent control on the 2024 ballot. He ended his campaign after struggling to obtain the necessary signatures and support from other advocates.
Wu’s latest comments come as several major unions are throwing their support behind the push to implement rent control statewide.
Wu stressed Tuesday that she has not reached a final decision on the statewide push, and suggested that — wherever she lands — she’s unlikely to campaign against it.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I would probably stay out more than anything else.”
