Massachusetts Banned Rent Control in 1994

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40P, the Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition Act, was approved by statewide ballot referendum in 1994. Section 4 provides that "no city or town may enact, maintain or enforce rent control of any kind," defined broadly in Section 3 as "any regulation that in any way requires below-market rents for residential properties." A narrow exception permits a municipality that formally accepts the chapter to adopt voluntary, owner-compensated regulation, but no city uses it. Boston's 2023 home-rule petition to restore rent control never cleared the Legislature, and a 2025-26 statewide initiative petition (25-21) was struck from the ballot by the Supreme Judicial Court in June 2026, so the prohibition remains fully intact.

Any municipal rent control ordinance enacted without meeting the chapter 40P exception is preempted and unenforceable. The statute bars below-market rent mandates plus related controls on evictions, condominium conversion, and services unless a town accepts the chapter and compensates owners.