A group of approximately 25 Lynn activists drove to Boston Saturday morning, where they rallied outside the state house — alongside dozens of housing justice advocates, labor union leaders and tenants — in support of a legislative rent control package.
Representatives Dave Rogers and Samantha Montaño and Sen. Pat Jehlen filed the bills (HD 3953 / SD 1818) last week. If passed, the legislation would give cities and towns the option to adopt municipal rent control — tying rent increases to the inflation rate with a maximum increase of five percent per year.
A delegation of activists from the housing reform advocacy group Lynn United For Change congregated on the front steps of Lynn City Hall Saturday morning, making brief speeches and holding signs that read “rent control now.”
Among the speakers was Ramona Almanzar, a Lynn mother of two who works as an elder care aid, said that her landlord recently sold her building to a new owner, who raised the rent by $550.
“My objective coming to this country with my children was to give them a better education and to improve themselves and to have a better life. It is very painful to me that my son thinks that he will not be able to go to college because of this huge increase in rent,” Almazar said.
The package would also, if passed, prevent no-fault evictions, which the organizers said has been on the rise across the commonwealth since 2019.
Landlords with owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer dwellings would be exempt from the proposed legislation, along with units built after 2020 and future developments over the next five years.
In 1994, the Legislature passed the Rent Control Prohibition Act, effectively banning municipalities from enacting rent control across the commonwealth. If passed, this legislation would end the near 30-year ban.
11th Essex District Representative Peter Capano is among the bill (HD3953’s) 14 co-sponsors. He said that he supported the legislation because he believes municipalities should have the option to pass rent stabilization ordinances at their own will.
“I support allowing municipalities to craft their own ordnances to stabilize rents. The proposed bill has a cap on rent increases, eliminates the possibility of sudden outrageous increases, and exempts units under four families. It’s not a mandate —it simply allows a municipality to opt in if they choose,” Capano said.
Capano also also the lead sponsor of bill HD3096, which would protect tenants against evictions while their Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) applications are under review.
“This bill would preserve measures to prevent unnecessary evictions. These measures are currently set to expire this spring. For example, this bill would stop tenants from being thrown out of their homes while their RAFT rent assistance application is pending [or] in review,” Capano said. “The current version of this has helped many Lynn families avoid eviction by giving time to get RAFT approved and get back on track with payments. It would be devastating to lose the protection in April.”
Lynn United for Change Director Isaac Hodes said that he’s hopeful city council will be on board with rent control should the state legislation pass.
“The first step is ending the statewide ban and giving cities like Lynn the power to put in place the rent control. Ending the ban at the state level is step one, but we absolutely have had conversations with the city council, the mayor, and others. We’re hoping that as soon as the state ban is ended, we’ll be able to quickly push for rent control here in Lynn,” Hodes said.
Before the activists left for Boston, Community Organizer at Lynn United for Change Celly De La Cruz said that rising rent prices in the city have a detrimental effect on families in Lynn.
“It’s immoral and totally wrong, what they [landlords] are doing. They’re pushing our families out of their homes, their children out of the school, people out of their churches and congregations — they’re completely destabilizing families. Enough is enough,” De La Cruz said.