MAR Online Blog

Proponents of the 2024 ballot question that proposed to lift the statewide prohibition on rent control and give municipalities control over everything from evictions to real estate broker’s fees to removal of properties from the rental market have suspended their efforts. Supporters fell significantly short of the roughly 75,000 voter signatures required to move the ballot question onto the next step in the approval process. Read more about the process here.  

While that means MAR’s direct opposition to the ballot question has largely stopped before it could begin, our conversations with a broad swath of like-minded groups will continue as we work to educate stakeholders and the general public about unintended consequences this policy will have for Massachusetts. Keep an eye on the 2026 election for another potential ballot question on this issue. 

While the ballot process is ending, the legislative process continues. We are nearly through the first half of the current two-year legislative session and on November 14th, the Legislature held a hearing on several rent control bills. MAR provided testimony in opposition, explaining how rent control would not solve any of the issues that created the housing crisis, and in fact, is likely to exacerbate them by giving municipalities another tool to block desperately needed multifamily housing. It will hurt renters and property owners in the process. Watch MAR’s testimony.