Rent control debate revs up
The rubber is hitting the road on the rent-control debate, with opponent revving up a six-digit ad campaign against it and the mayor firing back ahead of an upcoming hearing.
Tuesday dawned with the Greater Boston Real Estate Board rolling out a $400,000 — or more, potentially — campaign against Mayor Michelle Wu’s rent-control proposal.
“We’ve seen a steady stream of less than business friendly proposals from the administration,” GBREB boss Greg Vasil told the Herald.
The ad campaign will include digital ads, mailers and phone calls attempting to sway public opinion against rent control.
Wu’s proposal is seeking to cap year-over-year rent increases at 6% plus consumer price index increases, to a max of 10%.
New construction would be exempt from the caps for the first 15 years, and protections wouldn’t carry over between tenants. Exemptions also include buildings with six or fewer units where one of the occupants is the owner. The city would improve a rental registry and tighten just-cause eviction rules.
Rent control was outlawed by a statewide referendum in 1995. Wu’s proposal would need to pass council and get her signature before making its way up Beacon Hill for approval by the Legislature and governor.
Various camps have formed around this issue. One is that of Vasil and his “Rent Control Hurts Housing” campaign, which argues that this would cut down on development and just further create the lack of housing that’s led to these prices in the first place.
Wu, for her part, ran on these policies and posits that “This rent stabilization proposal will protect renters from extreme and unaffordable rent increases that are displacing families from our neighborhoods and keep people in their homes,” per a spokesman. “We fully stand behind this proposal and will fight against special interests benefiting from a broken status quo.”
And then there’s a contingent to her left that says the proposal is too loose. Several city councilors have said they want to see tighter caps and are suspicious of the exemption for new development.
The council debate will begin Wednesday with a 10 a.m. remote hearing, in which different suggestions for changes from councilors are expected.