Government

Sen. Miranda and Rep. Montaño Share Opinions on Rent Control

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After the Boston City Council voted in support of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's rent control plan, that put the home-rule petition in the fate of the state Legislature. The plan would tie rent increases to inflation with a cap of 10% for Boston apartments. The plan exempts smaller landlords and units in buildings less than 15 year olds, and about 55% of Boston's 313,000 rental units would be affected if it becomes law, according to WBUR. With the measure now at the State House, it's important to know what state legislators think about it. Previously, Massachusetts voted to ban rent control in 1994, which is why a home-rule petition is required to make it law.

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Government

Rep. Elugardo Calls for Rent Control with State Bill

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Rents have skyrocketed through the years in Boston, much of Massachusetts, and across the country. Unfortunately, salaries have not kept up with rising rents, and a state bill proposed by state Rep. Nika Elugardo wants to allow local municipalities the ability to reenact rent control in the Commonwealth. A hotly contested statewide ballot question banned rent control, 51 % to 49% across Massachusetts in 1994. At the time only Boston, Brookline, and Cambridge had rent control. "The current Rent Control Prohibition Act prohibiting rent regulation 'policy is based on the belief that the public is best served by free market rental rates for residential properties,'" said Elugardo in closed door testimony on January 14 (Rep. Elugardo, D-15th Suffolk, provided her talking points to Jamaica Plain News.

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