Letter from the Executive Director for April 2026: Tell Ten Landlords About Rent Control

In March I heard this time and again: there are landlords and brokers out there who have no idea the strictest rent control system in the country is barreling toward us. This is a crisis of unawareness.

Please take a moment now to think about 10 landlords you know who are asleep on this issue. Odds are they’re not a MassLandlords member. Write them down on paper, draft an email on your phone, or start a file on your computer. Then read on, and at the end of this letter I’ll ask you to put that list to good use. There must be 10 people you can think of who need to know about this. Do it now.

Statewide rent control will probably be on the ballot this November 2026. It would be the strictest statewide system in the country: We’ll only be allowed to raise the rent by inflation or 5%, whichever is lower. If the old tenant leaves, the new tenant pays the same rent. We’ll get a once-per-year increase of inflation or 5%. There will be no exception for renovation. All rents will have to be calculated from their value on January 31, 2026 (yes, a date in the past). Owner-occupied with four units or less will be exempt, but only if the owner is not an LLC or a trust. If an investor buys an owner-occupied building, the rents must be recalculated from Jan 31, 2026.

There is a multi-prong approach to opposing this. First, we have asked the legislature. Second, we have asked the courts. Third, we will ask the voters. We will win. But only if you do what we ask.

The main event in March was the St. Patrick’s Day/Evacuation Day State House hearing. The legislature has been asked to adopt the rent control ballot initiative early. This must not happen. Even the meanest, least well-prepared public official should understand that municipal budgets will decrease under rent control. Hundreds of thousands of rental units will slide into disrepair. Tufts estimates a $9 billion loss. Massachusetts can’t afford that.

The opposition testimony has been piled high. In writing to the committee, in this April edition of the newsletter and on our website, we have pointed out the inaccuracy of testimony from one renter alleging 100% increases, tackled the slur of “greed” levied against us, explained why sometimes even a 100% rent increase can be justified, and provided dozens of pages of testimony from members and much more from staff. All totaled, we submitted 142 pages opposed to rent control.

And we’re not alone: The Housing for Massachusetts rent control opposition campaign also provided written testimony and a panel of live testimony. Steff Amun Ra, on our Board of Directors, spoke loud and clear: they would be taking away our American dream.

We’re up against several dangerous forces: ignorance, misinformation, disinformation, malice, and a century-long socialist ideology that somehow, magically, the government will be able to own and operate all the housing we need. Like it or not, market forces are real and really powerful. Eighty percent of all rental housing in Massachusetts is funded by the market. To crush the market for ideological reasons is to say we have no use for 80% of our rental housing. It is misguided in the extreme.

But we are going to beat this. We are already advertising on social media. RentControlHistory.com has been seen by another 100,000 people last month. Take that list of 10 people you made and call, text and email them about this issue. We need everyone to be aware. When every person reading this does what I ask, we will have alerted all the landlords in Massachusetts, months ahead of plan. And wait until you see our list of endorsements united with us in opposition to rent control.

The call to action is please join as a member, encourage others to join, become a property rights supporter or increase your level of support.

Sincerely,

Doug

Executive Director

MassLandlords, Inc.