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BOSTON - Thursday, March 10, 2022 - Building
upon her commitment to protect Boston renters, today Mayor Michelle Wu
announced a Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee made up of housing
advocates, developers, tenants, and other stakeholders. The advisory committee
members will study local housing conditions as well as the structure and
outcomes of rent stabilization programs in other cities. They will be
tasked with making recommendations to the Mayor and the Mayor’s Office of
Housing on strategies to stabilize Boston rents and protect tenants from
displacement. The committee will meet throughout 2022 with the goal of
shaping a proposal for the next state legislative session.
“Cities across the country use rent
stabilization as one tool among many to protect tenants and keep families
in their homes,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “The majority of
Boston residents and families are renters. If we aren’t willing to take on
the rent increases that are driving families out of Boston, then we aren’t
meeting the needs of our neighborhoods. I thank the broad group of
stakeholders, including advocates, tenants, and developers, who are willing
to roll up their sleeves to reimagine what’s possible.”
Rent stabilization measures in cities across
the United States empower municipalities to set certain limits on annual
rent increases for existing tenants, and may also include other tenant
protections. These approaches promote the preservation of mixed-income
neighborhoods and prevent renters from being pushed out of their communities.
“As an organizer fighting for a housing
market that lets people move when they want, where they want, not when they
have to, I am pleased to be a part of this committee,” said Beyazmin
Jimenez, Abundant Housing Massachusetts Board President. “I look
forward to working with the other members of this committee to explore ways
that the City can create more accessible housing in our communities.”
“Having worked with previous Boston mayors
on planning and affordable housing policy, I’m looking forward to being
able to serve the new administration and offer my expertise to shape the
conversation around rent stabilization,” said Curtis Kemeny, CEO
and President of Boston Residential Group. “This is a step in the right
direction, and I am confident that the City will work to ensure a
thoughtful, inclusive, and balanced policy that works for all residents.”
Almost 65% of Bostonians are renters, and
more than half of them spend more than 30% of their monthly income on rent,
leaving them struggling to save and vulnerable to housing instability. The
2020 Census also made clear that Black families are leaving the city, with
the non-Hispanic Black population citywide falling by over 6% between
2010-2020. Rent stabilization is one of many tools to support renters in
the short term, alongside longer-term measures that can be used to tackle
housing supply and affordability.
The work of this committee would complement
the work of the Office of Housing Stability. The Office of Housing
Stability helps tenants in housing crises due to fire, natural disaster,
eviction, or condemnation with the goal of putting residents on the path to
housing stability. Its efforts include launching tenants'
rights clinics for
those who are not able to come to City Hall during business hours; offering
low- and no-cost mediation and dispute
resolution for landlords
and tenants; launching the Housing Court Navigator, which provides legal
advice for tenants; launching the Landlord
Incentive program, which offers financial backing for landlords renting to
formerly unhoused people; and creating Boston's first-ever online guide
to evictions,
designed to assist tenants in every phase of a potential eviction
proceeding.
Rent stabilization would complement Mayor
Wu’s other initiatives to address Boston’s housing affordability, including
the Transfer Fee
and Senior Property Tax Exemption Home Rule Petition, and her commitment to update the City’s
commercial linkage fee and Inclusionary Development Policies. She is also
highlighting the importance of Housing by renaming the Department of
Neighborhood Development as the Mayor’s Office of Housing, and bringing a
new focus on equity by signing an Executive
Order relative to
affirmatively furthering fair housing.
This Advisory Committee will convene monthly
to hear from experts on different rent stabilization models and City
officials from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and the Boston Planning &
Development Agency (BPDA) on local rental market conditions. The committee
will also hold community listening sessions throughout the process to hear
community perspectives on housing affordability challenges and potential
solutions. The first community listening session will be held virtually on
April 19th, and the public can RSVP here to attend.
Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee
Members:
· Emma Anderson, Boston Teachers Union member
· Kathy Brown, Coordinator at Boston Tenant
Coalition
· Joe Byrne, Executive Secretary-Treasurer for
the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
· Karen Chen, Executive Director at Chinese
Progressive Association
· Filaine Deronnette, Vice President of Health
Systems for 1199 SEIU
· Emilio Dorcely, CEO of Urban Edge
· Dermot Doyne, Local landlord and business
owner
· Chris Herbert, Managing Director of the
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
· Beyazmin Jimenez, Abundant Housing
Massachusetts Board President
· Michael Kane, Executive Director at HUD
Tenant Alliance
· Brian Kavoogian, Managing Director of
National Development
· Curtis Kemeny, CEO and President of Boston
Residential Group
· Joe Kriesberg, President of Massachusetts
Association of Community Development Corporations
· Denise Matthews-Turner, Co-Executive
Director at City Life Vida Urbana
· Lisa Owens, Executive Director at Hyams
Foundation
· Jeanne Pinado, Vice President of Capital
Markets at Colliers International
· Mimi Ramos, Executive Director at New
England United for Justice
· Megan Sandel, Associate Professor of
Pediatric Medicine at Boston University
· Chanda Smart, CEO at Onyx
· Lauren Song, Senior Attorney at Greater
Boston Legal Services
· Justin Steil, Associate Professor of Law and
Urban Planning, MIT
· Carolyn Villers, Executive Director at Mass
Senior Action
· Josh Zakim, Founder and Executive Director
at Housing Forward MA
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