Boston does not have rent control. A 1994 statewide ballot measure banned Massachusetts cities and towns from regulating private rents, and that prohibition is still in force. Two active efforts could change the answer: a 2026 statewide ballot initiative that would cap annual rent increases across Massachusetts, and a Boston-specific Home Rule Petition that has been filed with the state legislature but has not moved.
Why Boston Can’t Set Its Own Rent Limits
Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline all had local rent control until 1995. On November 8, 1994, Massachusetts voters narrowly approved Question 9, which prohibited cities and towns from regulating rents on private housing.1Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 1994 – Statewide – Question 9 Boston voters opposed the ban, but the statewide tally controlled.
The result sits in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40P. Section 4 bars any city or town from enacting, maintaining, or enforcing a law that controls the rent a landlord charges for private residential housing.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I Title VII Chapter 40P The ban also reaches related restrictions on evictions and condo conversions when they operate as part of a rent control system. Reviving rent limits in Boston takes either an act of the state legislature or a statewide ballot measure. Both are being tried right now.
The 2026 Statewide Ballot Initiative
The furthest-along effort is a statewide ballot initiative scheduled for 2026. It would cap annual rent increases at the Consumer Price Index or 5%, whichever is lower, for every 12-month period.3Mass.gov. An Initiative Petition to Protect Tenants by Limiting Rent Increases The cap would carry over when a unit changes tenants, closing the gap that lets landlords reset to market rate between leases. The base rent for the calculation would be whatever the tenant was paying on January 31, 2026.
Several categories of housing are exempt:
- Owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units where the owner lives on site.
- Units with a first certificate of occupancy less than 10 years old.
- Units whose rents are already set by a public authority. Holding a mobile housing voucher alone does not qualify.
- Short-term rentals of fewer than 14 consecutive days.
- Units in facilities run solely for educational, religious, or nonprofit purposes.
The Boston City Council passed a resolution supporting the ballot question and noted that Boston voters had supported keeping rent control in 1994.4City of Boston. Council Adopts Resolution Supporting 2026 Rent Stabilization Ballot Question If voters approve the initiative statewide, it would override the Chapter 40P ban and apply across the Commonwealth, not just in Boston.
Boston’s Home Rule Petition for Rent Stabilization
Mayor Michelle Wu has pursued a separate, city-only track. In March 2022 she formed a Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee, and the resulting proposal would cap annual increases at the Consumer Price Index plus 6%, with an absolute ceiling of 10%, whichever is lower.5City of Boston. Rent Stabilization It exempts new construction for 15 years and owner-occupied buildings with three or fewer units. Those terms are more permissive than the statewide ballot initiative.
The proposal also includes just cause eviction protections, which would require a landlord to show a specific, verifiable reason before starting an eviction. Typical grounds in just cause systems include nonpayment, lease violations, property damage, and the landlord moving in or taking the unit off the market.
Because Chapter 40P blocks the city from acting alone, Boston packaged the policy as a Home Rule Petition asking the legislature for permission. The petition was filed in January 2025. As of early 2026, no legislative action has been recorded, and petitions of this kind can sit in a State House committee indefinitely even after a unanimous council vote and the mayor’s signature. The two efforts are not mutually exclusive: if the statewide initiative fails, Boston’s petition remains on file; if the legislature acts later, the city could still implement its own tailored rules.
What Applies to Your Rent Today
With no rent control in place, a Boston landlord can set the rent at whatever the market will pay. State law does impose timing and notice rules on how an increase has to happen.
Notice Rules
If you have a lease, your landlord generally cannot raise the rent during the lease term unless the lease itself allows it, for example through a tax escalator clause. When the lease ends, the landlord can offer renewal at a new rent.
If you rent month to month as a tenant at will, the landlord must give written notice before raising the rent. The notice period is at least 30 days or one full rental period, whichever is longer.6General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part II Title I Chapter 186 Section 12 The notice technically ends your current tenancy and offers a new one at the higher figure. There is no legal cap on the size of the increase; the only requirements are the notice and the timing.
Protection Against Retaliation
Massachusetts law prohibits landlords from retaliating against tenants who exercise legal rights, including reporting code violations, joining a tenants’ organization, or withholding rent for documented habitability problems. A rent increase or eviction notice issued within six months of one of those actions is presumed retaliatory, and the landlord carries the burden of proving otherwise in court.
Until either the 2026 ballot measure passes or the legislature acts on Boston’s Home Rule Petition, these notice and anti-retaliation rules are the ceiling of what state law gives Boston tenants on rent increases.