MAR Online Blog

On August 6th, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell certified the initiative petition on rent control over MAR’s legal objection. Read more about the petition here. 

The Attorney General’s certification will set in motion a path for supporters to follow and a path for MAR and our partners to oppose rent control.  

Rent control supporters have from now until November 22nd to collect just under 75,000 certified signatures. This is no easy task as signatures must be collected from across the state. If the supporters are successful in their signature gathering, the petition will move to the legislature in January 2024. The Legislature will then have until May 1, 2024 to pass the measure, propose a substitute, or take no action.  

MAR has long successfully opposed rent control, and we will continue to do so as the ballot initiative process progresses. We will continue to work with our industry partners to build a strong and diverse opposition committee. The committee will be used to run a campaign to educate voters on the harmful effects of rent control policies and the significant additional unintended consequences that the exceedingly broad ballot question would have.  

Simultaneously, we are also preparing to appeal the Attorney General’s certification to the state’s highest court, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). We anticipate the SJC will look to act on any appeals in early 2024 with a decision sometime in the late spring.  

Stay tuned for more information and updates as the process progresses. Thank you for all the support you provide for our advocacy efforts in defense of private property rights.