Renting in Boston can feel like an uphill battle, with landlords raising the monthly payments to some of the highest in the nation as they try and offset increasing taxes, utilities and other costs.
There may be some hope on the horizon for tenants, after the City Council approved Mayor Michelle Wu's rent control plan on Wednesday.
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Not everyone believes her plan would help, but many renters were pretty happy to hear that City Council voted to advance Wu’s rent stabilization plan to state lawmakers.
“I guess presumably it’s going to keep going up,” said Boston renter Marshall Pontrelli, “so I guess rent stabilization’s a good idea.”
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Wu's proposal would ban rent increases of more than 6%, plus inflation, with a cap at 10% in high inflation years.
"We hear from residents across every single neighborhood just how dire it is, and we see families who are getting pushed out of the communities they grew up in," Wu said.
The state legislature and the governor will still need to approve the home rule petition, so there still is a way to go before rent prices potentially come down in the city. City Council approval was just the first step.
But as more communities, like Somerville and Cambridge, consider following in Boston’s footsteps, where does Gov. Maura Healey stand on supporting rent control measures?
She was asked that question on Wednesday.
“I’ve said for a long time I support communities and their efforts to do what they think is necessary when it comes to housing, and with respect to any legislation that’s filed, I’m going to take a look at it," Healey said.
However, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board does not support the mayor’s proposal.
“The research that has been done on rent control overwhelmingly has shown that it has impinged and curbed the production of housing," Greater Boston Real Estate Board CEO Greg Vasil said. "We need to build more housing, and that’s sort of in line with what we’ve been saying for years.”
According to Boston.com, that group has vowed to expand it’s $400,000 "rent control hurts housing" campaign, as this measure moves onto the state legislature.
