MassLandlords members plan to sue the state to force action – not on ending the eviction freeze, but on making sure landlords get reasonable compensation for housing tenants who can’t pay rent.
If we are serious about solving the housing crisis and systemic racism, we need to stop trying to pass a law that will make both worse.
It is right that we should seek to keep everyone stably housed during a pandemic. But this particular law has set in motion a chain of events that could alter the face of the commonwealth for the worse.
Our lack of medical preparation has now put us on our economic heels. One way out is an emergency income that lets us put the outside world on pause.
As it turns out, three drivers of high housing costs are pitting local control against regional and state-wide transit: zoning, household size restrictions and parking requirements.
In Massachusetts the rent control debate is back in full force, despite nearly 50 years of political and economic failure. It is a symptom of “majority rules,” a voting method which has had its day.
Is the price of Greater Boston real estate unfairly high? Are we about to see a correction? These questions ought to weigh heavily on investors’ minds, particularly now as arguments (at least among landlords) seem to intensify.
