NORTHAMPTON — Tenants and advocates stood outside the front gates of the Smith College campus on Tuesday, hoping to pressure the college to reverse rent increases it implemented last summer and to highlight the high cost of rent in the region.
Smith, in addition to being the largest institution of any kind in the city with an endowment of more than $2.5 billion, owns and rents dozens of rental units mainly along West Street near campus. Tenants of the Smith-owned properties, organized under the name West Street Tenants, have claimed that the college in recent years has increased rents beyond what Smith agreed it would maintain during the time of Mayor Clare Higgins, with some tenants reporting a rent hike of more than 20% last summer.
Eliza Menzel, a Smith alumna and a paralegal at law firm Heisler, Feldman and Ordorica in Springfield, led the group speakers at the Tuesday event. The law firm specializes in tenant’s rights.
“These increases are destabilizing tenants, forcing many to leave and burdening those who remain,” Menzel said. “Smith runs on the hard work of Northampton’s community members, but a growing number of them cannot afford to live in housing owned by their employer.”
Suzanne Stillinger, a West Street tenant who works in early childhood education, said her rent makes up 40% of her income and said she had resorted to donating plasma to make ends meet due to the rent increases.
“Everything is more expensive, so when they raise my rent, I add another job,” Stillinger said. “I challenge Smith College to do better to be a leader on affordable housing. I expect my college to walk the walk.”
Despite agreeing 20 years ago to keep annual rent increases at “reasonable and predictable levels,” the tenant’s group said Smith in recent years has moved away from those commitments and increased rents beyond the agreed-upon limits. They are asking that the college roll back the June 2025 rent increases, return to $25 a year maximum rent increases, and address ongoing maintenance issues in the buildings.
Carolyn McDaniel, a spokesperson for Smith College, said the school meets all the agreements signed with its tenants.
“The rental rates are set in an attempt to stay in line with the current market, and the revenue is used to cover costs such as property taxes, updates, and maintenance,” McDaniel said in a statement. “While Smith does not speak to the details of individual leases, the college does comply with the terms of all documented agreements related to its rental properties.”
In September, West Street Tenants held a rally in front of campus ahead of a resolution supporting state rent control laws that was approved by the Northampton City Council. The resolution came amid studies showing that median rent in the city increased by 28% between the five-year period of 2018 to 2023, and that 46% of all households in the city qualify for federal and state affordable housing programs.
The resolution supported a bill in the Massachusetts State House known as “An Act Enabling Cities and Towns to Stabilize Rents and Protect Tenants,” that would legalize rent control in the state. Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa and Sen. Jo Comerford, who represent Northampton in the House of Representatives and Senate respectively, are co-sponsors of the bill.
Alex Jarrett, the current City Council president, attended Tuesday’s event to voice his support for the tenants.
“No one should be pushed out of their housing by a nonprofit with a large endowment,” Jarrett said. “Smith relies on Northampton to thrive, and Northampton relies on Smith. Affordable, stable rents allow workers to stay here, plan for the future and know they are welcomed and supported by their community.”
The West Street tenants were also joined by members of the Easthampton Tenants Union in solidarity. Mona Shadi, an Easthampon renter, said she refused to pay a large increase in rent to her commercial landlord, Pine Valley Realty, which had announced rent increases of $300 to $400 for tenants in August.
“Smith tenants have taken us under their wing. We now have their back,” Shadi said. “Northampton is not just a city where they [Smith] can keep expanding their tax-free campus. It’s our community.”