Past Cambridge Assessor: Rent Control’s Deleterious Effect

SPOA Editor’s note: Just Cause Eviction is almost certainly going to resurface sometime this fall or in the coming winter or spring. This letter is just the start of a long campaign we must fight.

Dear City Councilor:

As principal assessor in the City of Cambridge (1963 – 1979) and President of Massachusetts Assessors Association (1978), I can attest that the abolition of Rent Control in Cambridge was the rebirth of the City of Cambridge.  A blighted housing stock became renovated and Cambridge became economically vibrant again.  The high tech market arrived soon thereafter!  Increased low to moderate income housing (as Cambridge has provided) is the answer, not controls!

I urge you to vote against Just Cause Eviction as it is just a prelude to subsequent and detrimental controls that will be harmful to the community as a whole!

Sincerely,
Charles R Laverty, Jr., C.A.E. (Retired), General Partner, Laverty Lohnes Properties