Rent Control: What’s Next?

With the rent control initiative no longer on the ballot this upcoming November, what will happen to the rent control campaign? The two most viable options for statewide rent control are (1) submitting an updated ballot question for the next statewide election to address the concerns raised by the SJC’s ruling or (2) getting a rent control bill through the Legislature. At this point, neither of these paths presents an immediate likelihood of success.

UPDATING THE BALLOT QUESTION

Following the SJC’s holding that the rent control ballot question slated for this upcoming November impermissibly concerned religion, Noemi Ramos, the chair of the Yes campaign, asserted that the SJC’s issue with the question “is easily fixable.” This assertion suggests that the Yes campaign hopes to promptly put the rent control question back on the ballot, but there are several obstacles impeding their ability to do so quickly.

First, it is too late to submit any new questions for the ballot this upcoming November or to amend any previously submitted questions. With that, the question is definitively off the ballot for the election in November. Looking beyond this election, there will not be another statewide election for two more years, meaning a possible future rent control question cannot go before voters until 2028 at the earliest. Notably, the 2028 election cycle will also include the Presidential election. If rent control supporters wish to pursue this ballot question in 2028, they will have to compete for voters’ attention with the advertising and advocacy efforts associated with the federal election.

Rent control will not be passed in Massachusetts through a ballot question until 2028 at the earliest, and even then, such a campaign would be fighting a significantly different publicity battle.

LEGISLATIVE RENT CONTROL

Prior to the SJC’s ruling on the rent control ballot question, the Yes campaign and the No campaign were reportedly negotiating a compromised rent control bill to push through the Legislature. Now that the pressure of a potential ballot question is off the table, the No campaign, in part coordinated by CREDA (formerly, NAIOP Massachusetts), has a far diminished incentive to continue these negotiations, especially considering the limited prospects for a future ballot question. Tamara Small, CREDA’s chief executive, has since stated that, “[s]ince the ballot question has been tossed by the SJC, there is nothing on which we would be compromising.”

If, nevertheless, a rent control bill is brought before the Legislature, it likely will not be submitted before 2027. Massachusetts operates on a two-year legislative cycle, and 2026 is the second year of the current cycle. While there is a process for “late files,” this process requires levels of approval highly unlikely for such a controversial policy with fewer than six months left in this legislative session. Instead, such a bill would likely be submitted in January 2027 between the first Wednesday of the month and the third Friday of the month (the period between the start of the session and the deadline for petitions). The Legislature would then have two years to assign the bill to a committee, schedule hearings, and vote on the bill. Given the Legislature’s choice not to act on the rent control ballot initiative this past Spring, it would seem unlikely that such a bill would be passed rapidly, but this may depend on who is and is not elected to the Legislature this November.

Alternatively, rent control advocates still have the option to fight for rent control at the municipal level, but it remains to be seen whether the proponents are interested in pursuing such a piecemeal approach. For example, in November 2023, Brookline approved a home rule petition, Bill S.960, seeking to grant legislative authorization “for the town to adopt a local rent stabilization ordinance.” Pending the Legislature’s approval, Brookline would cap rent increases at the lower of 7% or CPI increases plus 3%. If the Legislature passes Bill S.960, Brookline will become the 28^th municipality of 351 in Massachusetts with rent control. While statewide rent control is unlikely for the immediate future, individual municipalities may be the next target for rent control home rule initiatives as advocates seek to achieve their goal.

In the event of significant developments in any of these potential rent control efforts, we will advise. Of course, please reach out if you have questions or would like to discuss.