Advocates renew push for rent control in Mass.

Tenants' rights groups and progressive lawmakers are renewing a push to bring rent control back to Massachusetts.

Hundreds of activists in yellow T-shirts lined the marble grand staircase of the State House on Tuesday, holding signs and banners ahead of a key committee hearing.

"This isn't about tenants versus homeowners versus small landlords. This is about people versus corporate interests," said Carolyn Chou, executive director of the advocacy group Homes for All. "We're the people of Massachusetts, and we need to be able to stay in our communities."

The Legislature's joint committee on municipalities and regional government is considering a bill that would allow cities and towns to tie rent increases to the rate of inflation, with a cap of 5%.

The protest comes as residents in Boston and across the state face rising housing prices, and the cost of living has become a major political issue.

The Boston City Council and Mayor Michelle Wu passed a local measure in 2023 to allow for a form of rent control, but the proposal died alongside other rent control bills at the state level. Rent stabilization is once again an issue in the Boston mayoral race.

Landlord groups oppose rent control, arguing that limits on the rental market would negatively impact housing production and quality.

Rent control has been banned in Massachusetts since 1994.