Boston Mayor Michelle Wu backs statewide rent control proposal
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she would vote for a ballot measure that would implement rent control statewide, after previously indicating she opposed it.
Wu appeared to flip her position on the potential statewide ballot measure Tuesday, saying that she would back it despite her reservations about the proposal — which lays out more aggressive restrictions than the Boston-specific rent control legislation she pitched three years ago that has stalled in the state Legislature.
“If this is still on the ballot by this fall, I am a ‘yes’ voting for it,’ Wu said on GBH’s Boston Public Radio. “It’s not perfect, and it’s not what the City of Boston put forward as a balanced proposal for our city that was based on tons of research and stakeholders representing all parts of different views that would really preserve housing production while protecting against egregious rent increases.
“So, this is different than that, but I’m not going to let perfect be the enemy of the good in this case, when there is so much urgency and pressure from housing costs on our residents,” the mayor added.
The proposed ballot measure would cap annual rent increases for most housing units in Massachusetts to the Consumer Price Index or 5%, whichever is lower. The proposal includes exemptions for owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units and for newly-constructed buildings during their first 10 years.
Wu had previously indicated she was opposed to the statewide rent control proposal just this past November, saying that it had the potential to slow or prevent housing production.
“I wish that the ballot initiative had been just a pure local option, repeal the ban on cities taking action and let each city do what they need to do,” Wu said at the time. “It is quite restrictive, and we need to be at the right balance between not chilling or preventing housing production while we are keeping people in their homes as we try to boost the supply and create more housing.”
Wu proposed a less restrictive Boston-only rent control bill in early 2023 that was approved by the City Council but died on Beacon Hill.
The mayor’s proposal would have capped year-over-year rent hikes at 6% plus consumer price index increases, to a max of 10%. It would have carved out exemptions for new construction and small landlords, as well as strengthened protections against evictions.
Wu indicated Tuesday that she changed her mind on the potential statewide rent control ballot measure after hearing from community advocates.
“I have finally taken some time to really dig into the details of the ballot question and what the legislative language is, as well as what the organizing efforts are,” Wu said.
She added, however, that she was hopeful that the state lawmakers could compromise on a rent control measure, and pass something with more “nuance,” before the proposed community-led measure is placed on the ballot as a question.
“We need to see something happen, and I hope there can be some compromise worked out, because every city’s condition is quite different from each other,” Wu said.
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Paul Craney, executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a conservative watchdog group, slammed Wu’s latest support of rent control, saying that the mayor was “seeking headlines instead of solutions.”
“It’s a policy that will only drive up property taxes and suppress housing,” Craney told the Herald. “It does the opposite of whatever you’re trying to solve, which is more affordable housing, more options. It will never work.”
Craney said rent control has failed in other cities, such as Portland, Maine, where it was recently implemented “and the average residential property tax owner is seeing a $500 increase because of” the policy.
“It doesn’t work; it’s a bad idea,” Craney said. “She’s seeking headlines instead of solutions.”
