EASTHAMPTON — As some Easthampton residents grapple with rising rents — an issue that is getting attention far beyond the city limits — the City Council has created a new committee to study the issue and develop solutions to support tenants.
“City Council members realized that there’s a housing crisis regarding rent,” said At-Large Councilor Koni Denham. “There are people not being able to afford their rent, having to leave Easthampton. We had some residents who had to leave and we have had residents come to us asking for action due to significant rent increases.”
While the worries are not new, some councilors began mulling over the creation of an ad-hoc committee earlier this year as a way to support renters. That committee came to fruition at the council’s Sept. 3 meeting when the council approved its creation and assigned its future members two tasks: to study and examine the Easthampton housing market and analyze programs to highlight ways the city can support tenants.
The committee will be made up of renters, landlords, real estate company owners and include Denham, along with fellow Councilor Felicia Jadczak, totaling nine members.
Denham and Jadzcak helped spearhead efforts to create the committee back in March after hearing complaints from residents about steep rent increases in the city. At that time, the Council adopted a resolution in favor of the bill An Act Enabling Cities and Towns to Stabilize Rents and Protect Tenants, still sitting on Beacon Hill (S.1447), that would give Massachusetts municipalities the option to cap rent increases. The committee’s creation was delayed due to the mayoral transition after former Mayor Nicole LaChapelle resigned.
The committee will start meeting soon to help research market trends in Easthampton to quantify rent and housing increases. Denham explained the committee provides an opportunity to provide renters with information, supporting them in the ongoing fight against rising rents.
“It’s not going to go away and we have to be proactive in thinking about how we are going to support our residents …” Denham said about the housing crisis. “Easthampton is not an anomaly in this situation … Easthampton is a working class community, we have a large senior population and we have new schools we are trying to build with younger families.”
Renters in action
The issue garnered attention in recent months when tenants from two rental properties experienced dramatic rent increases. In response, residents of those apartment complexes formed tenant associations — the Adams Street association at 17 Adams St. and Pleasant View Apartments association at 22 Nashawannuck St. — to push back against the out-of-state landlords who raised their rents.
The Adams Street property was purchased in April by South Carolina-based Hurricane Properties LLC, although two of the three owners live in Hampden County. Shortly after, tenants were hit with 30-50% rent increase. Recently, after pushback from tenants and negotiations with the landlords, rents were dropped to a 7.5% increase from the original rents.
Hurricane Properties co-owner Patrick Burand sent an email to the Gazette explaining the situation.
“We purchased the property at 17 Adams Street in April of this year and initially proposed rent increases for the residents of this building in order to offset the high costs of the building, but after learning of the financial hardships that this would present to the residents, we have adjusted our approach and are working with these residents to find a rent solution that works for everyone,” the emails states.
After initial negotiations, the landlords said they would increase rent by $75 which Burand says is well under market value. The tenants countered with a 7.5% increase that the landlords accepted. Tenant Ilene Roizman said this is more equitable and appropriate since not all tenants pay the same rent.
Burand’s email states that even with these “moderate rent increases” their business struggles to pay the rent and mortgage of the property each month. He cited the difficulties on all landlords to maintain properties, mentioning improvements they have made including $13,000 roof repairs, upgrading the fire monitoring system and multiple other repairs.
“Keeping the rents this far below market value will represent a significant financial hardship for our business, but we believe that having a harmonious relationship with our tenants at rents they can comfortably afford is highly important …,” the email reads. “Times have been very very difficult for landlords such as us over the past 5 years as taxes, insurance and mortgage rates have nearly doubled and small businesses in our position have struggled to pay expenses. Like many other small businesses, we are simply doing our best to stay in afloat and pay our small staff of five employees.”
Roizman claims that before Hurricane Properties took their website down recently, it “boasted” about their $20 million real estate portfolio. She feels the efforts and rallying from tenants were a major reason they were able to negotiate the rent increase and why the LLC took its website down.
“I think it had a lot to do with it. We were pretty relentless in our efforts,” she said about the negotiations. “After the rally in July, they took down the website. We had another press conference at the post office and we mailed stacks of letters to the owners of Hurricane Properties, and I think they can see that we’re not going to give up and we’re not gonna stop pushing.”
In July, the Adams Street and Pleasant View tenant associations organized a rally outside the Municipal Building at 50 Payson Ave. to voice their frustrations and share their stories. Since then, members joined the housing group Springfield No One Leaves on a bus to the State House, to testify in support of Bill S.1447, the rent stabilization bill under consideration.
Tenants at the Pleasant View Apartments, owned by Rowin Capital LLC, continue efforts to reduce their $300 increase. The rent increase was originally $400 but was reduced by the landlords. For tenant Jackie Schnare, it is nice to have support from other tenant associations, but she still feels fearful rents will increase again in the future.
“It’s stressful for sure and it’s frustrating to be seen kind of as a dollar sign rather than a person. It’s quite disheartening,” she said about the rent increase. “I still get hope when the tenant associations get together. But when I just go about my day and see that I’m stuck in my rental unit, I wonder how much they (rents) are going to go up again.”
Schnare has a son and works delivering mail in the city. She says several tenants have had to move out of Pleasant View, some signed the new lease and some have yet to do so.
In an email to the Gazette, representative Paul Robbins for the landlords said that while rents for current tenants sit at $1,450 per month for a two-bedroom unit, new leases start at $2,100.
“With inflation increasing costs for everyone, properties have become increasingly expensive to maintain. We have endeavored to keep rents affordable …” the email reads. “Pleasantview is well-maintained and professionally managed. Many tenants are quite happy. Management has generously offered any unhappy tenant that they may break their lease at any time and leave to another apartment complex they like better. So far, no one has taken up the offer (which still stands) which speaks to the complex’s desirability and affordability.”
Aside from the those two properties, a different 10-unit complex in Easthampton has seen a rent increase owned by local landlords, Pine Valley Realty. According to tenant Mona Shadi, certain tenants received letters on Aug. 1 announcing a $300-$400 rent increase, with a deadline of Sept. 15 to respond.
“I think we’re all still in shock,” Shadi said about tenant responses to the increase. “There are people that have lived here for decades.”
Shadi moved from Northampton to Easthampton in 2020. Currently, she is working with other tenants to reach out to the landlord to negotiate the increase. She mentioned she has not met the landlord yet and hopes they will be open to negotiations.
State ballot initiative
At Easthampton’s Sept. 3 council meeting, Councilor Brad Riley brought up that Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell approved language for a ballot proposal that would limit annual rent increases for most units across Massachusetts to either the annual Consumer Price Index change, or 5%, whichever is lower. To get on the November 2026 ballot, backers need to collect 75,000 signatures.
The rent control proposal would have exemptions, including for owner-occupied buildings with four units or less. Riley showed support for the initiative explaining this is a way residents can take action.
“I’ve heard from hundreds of concerned citizens about why the city of Easthampton isn’t doing anything to address the housing crisis,” Riley said at the meeting. “Believe me, it has pained me to tell you over these years that there’s nothing that I or any of us within the city of Easthampton can do to help you, because in 1994 it became illegal for local governments like Easthampton to intervene in the control of rent. This ballot initiative is how you fix the problem.”
In 1994, the ability to allow towns to intervene with rent control was voted in a statewide referendum, banning municipal rent control by a margin of approximately 50,000 votes.