NORTHAMPTON — The City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution advocating for a state law legalizing rent control, a vote that was preceded by a tenant’s rally held in front of Smith College protesting the cost of rent in buildings owned by the school.
The rising cost of housing remains a major issue in the state of Massachusetts, and Northampton is no exception. According to the resolution passed by the council, median rent has increased by 28%, or more than $300, between the years of 2018 and 2023. In contrast, 46% of all households in the city qualify for federal and state affordable housing programs, according to census data, and 53% of the city’s renters were cost-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs.
“Some Northampton renters have reported that they have been victims of predatory rental market practices, which involve landlords exploiting tenants through unfair rental agreements; abrupt and significant rent hikes far beyond cost of living increases, often without adequate notice; neglect of repairs; and unfair eviction tactics,” the resolution states. “All of these practices have led to financial hardship and housing instability for Northampton’s renters, have left many of our long-term renters displaced, and have put some Northampton renters in the position of choosing rent over food and utilities.”
At the rally in front of Smith, organized by the West Street Tenants Association, around 100 demonstrators turned out to advocate for rent control. Many of the participants were students or workers at Smith or live in buildings owned by the college, many of which are located along West Street.
Rahel Teka, a student at Smith and a member of the association, said that some tenants in the group had reported seeing their rents increase by as much as 20%. She said it was important to show that the idea of rent control had popular support backing it.
“Ensuring that folks have a place to live that doesn’t cut into their day-to-day needs is really important,” Teka said. “We think our efforts in contributing to this fight will ensure that not only is there such popular demand for rent stabilization and affordable housing, but also that we’re contributing materially to this.”
Elsa Brown, another member of the tenant’s association, told the gathered crowd that it was important to show strength and solidarity in advocating for rent control.
“We are giving up things that we should be able to have, because we need to pay it towards the rent,” Brown said. “We’re worried about where we’re going to live every year when our lease comes up and the rent goes up, and we’re here to say ‘enough.’”
In a statement, Smith College said that it owns a small number of residential properties, which they estimate to be about 1% of Northampton’s total rental housing stock.
“These properties are not operated for profit; our financial goal is to cover costs while providing housing and acting as responsible landlords for employees and city residents,” the statement said. “As expenses such as property taxes and maintenance continue to rise, we make rent adjustments to cover our costs.”
The resolution approved by the council calls for the support of a bill in the Massachusetts State House known as “An Act Enabling Cities and Towns to Stabilize Rents and Protect Tenants.” The bill would legalize rent control in the state, enabling cities to enact rent stabilization and eviction protections for tenants while allowing for exemptions based on local context.
Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa and Sen. Jo Comerford, who represent Northampton in the House of Representatives and Senate respectively, are co-sponsors of the bill.
State ballot measure
Meanwhile, a proposed constitutional amendment is advancing toward a 2026 ballot measure that would reverse a decades-old ban, adopted via a 1994 ballot question, on rent control. Previous attempts to get lawmakers to reverse that prohibition have failed to gain traction.
The proposed ballot question is backed by the Homes for All coalition and opposed by well-funded real estate interests would limit annual rent increases for most units across Massachusetts to either the annual Consumer Price Index change or 5%, whichever is lower.
“I can’t wait to start collecting signatures from my neighbors to put rent stabilization on the ballot,” Mattapan tenant Betty Lewis said in a statement circulated by proponents. “All across Massachusetts, high rents are displacing people from our communities, or making them work multiple jobs just to pay the rent. When rent can go up by hundreds of dollars overnight, seniors are forced to put off their retirement, and young people and families can’t save money for the dream of owning a home.”
Several industry groups and a pair of think tanks unsuccessfully urged Attorney General Campbell not to certify the question.
Greater Boston Real Estate Board CEO Greg Vasil pledged to fight the proposal.
“Rent control is a flawed, harmful policy that stunts housing creation and increases overall housing costs: A horrifying thought given the hundreds of thousands of units our state must build to overcome the housing crisis,” Vasil said. “Our state’s focus needs to be on reducing barriers to housing creation so we can develop more homes across all price points, whether it be for young families looking to purchase their first home, or retirees looking to downsize in the community they have known for decades.”
Paul Craney, executive director of the Fiscal Alliance Foundation that called on Campbell to spike the measure, said his group is considering an appeal.
“The Massachusetts Constitution is explicit on the matter. Ballot questions that result in an uncompensated taking of private property are barred from the ballot,” Craney said. “The Supreme Judicial Court has already ruled on similar questions, striking them down under the Takings Clause. That precedent is binding. The AG chose politics over the law, and the SJC will ultimately have the last word.”
Council discussion
Ward 2 councilor Deb Klemer, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said at the council meeting that affordable rents, as well as the creation of affordable housing, are essential for proper living in the city.
“You can’t plan your life if you don’t know how much your rent is going to go up, or when it’s going to go up,” Klemer said. “I’ll continue to support any kind of housing being built, because supply and demand: The more housing we have, the less opportunity there is for people to just stack up their rents.”
Ward 7 councilor Rachel Maiore said that having stable rents was an indicator of the overall health of a community, and that higher rents constituted an “attack on the working class.”
“This is the attack to keep people scrambling on Maslow’s ladder of needs, where they’re just constantly trying to get a place to live and keep the basics covered,” Maiore said. “They never get to get up to a place of stability and fully embrace where they are, have their health and not have that stress. That stress is all-consuming.”
Several candidates running for a seat on the council also supported the resolution during public comment, including Ward 3 candidate Ace Tayloe and At-Large candidate Yakov Kronrod.
Kronrod, a landlord himself, said that the high costs of rent was “an issue of greed” that needs to be fixed.
“I have reduced rents more than I’ve raised them, and I partner with my tenants, and if they can’t make rent, then they don’t pay rent that month,” Kronrod said. “If you have a mortgage on a property as a landlord, it does not go up and someone else is buying your house for you. You need to keep that in mind, and as a landlord, you need to spend money to fix it, make it better, and help them stay there.”
Material from the State House News Service was used in this report.