By Richard Lawson | HousingWire | November 24, 2025
With an eye on New York City voters who favored housing affordability in this month’s mayoral election, Massachusetts housing advocates are optimistic they can win at the ballot box next year with statewide rent control.
The coalition group Homes for All Massachusetts collected more than enough signatures to place a local option rent control measure on next year’s ballot. Real estate groups and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu oppose the initiative, setting up a potentially intense battle over the proposal.
Advancing a rent control ballot initiative signals that voter pressure is mounting for direct intervention in the housing affordability crisis, even in states with a history of rejecting such measures. The campaign’s rapid signature-gathering highlights urgent concerns about rent increases, displacement, and the broader challenge of maintaining economic diversity in communities.
Political boundaries around rent control are eroding amid rising costs nationwide. This trend could encourage voters and advocates in other states to pursue similar policies through direct democracy instead of legislative compromise. Such efforts may reshape housing affordability debates across the country.
The effects were evident in New York City this November, when voters elected Zohran Mamdani as mayor, mainly because of his focus on affordability in one of the nation’s priciest cities. Mamdani pledged to expand rent stabilization.
Massachusetts stands out as a case of how much can change in two years. The same coalition failed to gather enough signatures in 2023 to put a rent control referendum on the 2024 ballot.
“Everywhere we went, we heard about how high rents are displacing workers and seniors from our communities, forcing people to work multiple jobs just to pay the rent, and making it impossible for young families to save money to achieve the dream of owning a home,” the coalition said on social media about its recent win.
Battle lines are emerging
New York City landlords have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2019 law that tightened rent stabilization. They argue the law is unconstitutional.
In Massachusetts, real estate interest groups immediately criticized the rent control referendum. The Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, and NAIOP Massachusetts issued a joint statement saying the measure would create the country’s most restrictive rent-control program.
“It will unquestionably make our housing crisis worse, and significantly reduce the supply of quality homes on the rental market,” they said.
Boston Mayor Wu supports rent stabilization but disagrees with the referendum’s language.
“I wish that the ballot initiative had been just a pure local option, repeal the ban on cities taking action and let each city do what they need to do,” Wu said on Boston Public Radio.
She agreed with the real estate community that the ballot measure is restrictive.
“We do need to be at the right balance between not chilling or preventing housing production while we are keeping people in their homes as we try to boost the supply and create more housing,” she added.
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