Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Rent control could become a question on the ballot in Massachusetts for the 2026 midterm elections.
Homes for All Massachusetts collected an estimated 125,000 signatures this week from residents for their ballot initiative, Initiative Petition to Protect Tenants by Limiting Rent Increases.
If it makes it to the ballot and is put in place, it will limit the maximum rent increase statewide to 5% per year.
Some Boston residents told WBZ NewsRadio's Jared Brosnan that they can't keep up with the current yearly increases.
"The rents just keep going up and up, but our paychecks aren't going up and up. Food's going up, everything's going up except for my paycheck," one resident said.
Others said they can't afford to live in downtown Boston anymore and have had to move to nearby areas.
"I lived in Boston, then I came to Quincy. I was basically priced out of Boston, it's still remotely affordable for one person to live here but we'll see what happens," one person said.
"I can see why people are moving out of the area because rent just keeps going up every single year with no real good explanation," said another.
When asked if they get what they pay for outside of Boston one said, "absolutely yeah." Another said, "my landlord's been very kind to me."
Some organizations have verbalized pushback against rent control, including: the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and NAIOP Massachusetts.
In a joint statement to CBS News Boston, they said, "This question creates the most restrictive rent control program in the entire United States and forces it on every city and town across the Commonwealth. It will unquestionably make our housing crisis worse and significantly reduce the supply of quality homes on the rental market."
WBZ NewsRadio's Jared Brosnan (@JaredBrosnanWBZ) reports.