H 2328

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2501  FILED ON: 1/16/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2328
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _________________
  PRESENTED BY:
  David M. Rogers and Samantha Montaño
  _________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
   Court assembled:
   The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
  An Act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants.
  _______________
  PETITION OF:
NAME:  DISTRICT/ADDRESS:  DATE ADDED:
David M. Rogers  24th Middlesex  1/16/2025
Samantha Montaño  15th Suffolk  1/16/2025
Mike Connolly  26th Middlesex  1/16/2025
Amy Mah Sangiolo  11th Middlesex  1/16/2025
James C. Arena-DeRosa  8th Middlesex  3/13/2025
Shirley B. Arriaga  8th Hampden  5/8/2025
Christine P. Barber  34th Middlesex  1/28/2025
Manny Cruz  7th Essex  2/4/2025
Leigh Davis  3rd Berkshire  4/4/2025
Marjorie C. Decker  25th Middlesex  2/14/2025
Mindy Domb  3rd Hampshire  5/29/2025
Daniel M. Donahue  16th Worcester  3/19/2025
Michelle M. DuBois  10th Plymouth  4/11/2025
James B. Eldridge  Middlesex and Worcester  1/27/2025
Rodney M. Elliott  16th Middlesex  11/16/2025
Sean Garballey  23rd Middlesex  3/24/2025
Carmine Lawrence Gentile  13th Middlesex  1/23/2025
Homar Gómez  2nd Hampshire  3/10/2025
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Christopher Hendricks  11th Bristol  3/5/2025
Natalie M. Higgins  4th Worcester  1/24/2025
Russell E. Holmes  6th Suffolk  2/21/2025
Kevin G. Honan  17th Suffolk  4/9/2025
Tara T. Hong  18th Middlesex  3/18/2025
Vanna Howard  17th Middlesex  3/4/2025
Mary S. Keefe  15th Worcester  2/5/2025
David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf   17th Worcester  2/10/2025
Jason M. Lewis  Fifth Middlesex  1/23/2025
Adrian C. Madaro  1st Suffolk  3/5/2025
Frank A. Moran  17th Essex  2/25/2025
James J. O'Day  14th Worcester  3/17/2025
Steven Owens  29th Middlesex  1/21/2025
Bridget Plouffe  9th Plymouth  5/1/2025
Rebecca L. Rausch  Norfolk, Worcester and Middlesex   3/22/2025
Sean Reid  11th Essex  2/3/2025
Estela A. Reyes  4th Essex  4/7/2026
Lindsay N. Sabadosa  1st Hampshire  1/23/2025
Margaret R. Scarsdale  1st Middlesex  1/27/2025
Danillo A. Sena  37th Middlesex  1/24/2025
Joshua Tarsky  13th Norfolk  10/9/2025
Chynah Tyler  7th Suffolk  4/7/2025
Steven Ultrino  33rd Middlesex  3/12/2025
Erika Uyterhoeven  27th Middlesex  1/29/2025
Susannah M. Whipps  2nd Franklin  4/4/2025
Bud L. Williams  11th Hampden  1/24/2025
Christopher J. Worrell        5th Suffolk  3/5/2025
Hannah Bowen  6th Essex  7/21/2025
Lisa Field  3rd Bristol  9/11/2025
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  HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2501  FILED ON: 1/16/2025
 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2328
By Representatives Rogers of Cambridge and Montaño of Boston, a petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 2328) of David M. Rogers, Samantha Montaño and others relative to enabling
cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants. Municipalities and Regional Government.
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
An Act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants.
  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1SECTION 1. Chapter 40P of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition,
2 is repealed.
3SECTION 2. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 49A the
4 following chapter:-
5CHAPTER 49B
6LIMITATION OF ANNUAL RENT INCREASES AND NO FAULT EVICTIONS
7Section 1. A city or town may accept this chapter in its entirety in the manner provided in
8 section 4 of chapter 4 of the General Laws. The acceptance of this local option by a municipality
9 shall take effect no later than 180 days after adoption. A municipality that accepts this section
10 shall adopt an ordinance or bylaw which effectuates the provisions of this chapter no later than
11 180 days after acceptance.
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12Section 2. A city or town accepting this chapter may, by local charter provision,
13 ordinance, by-law, majority vote of its governing body or through a local binding ballot measure
14 impose a limit on the size of annual rent increases and require that evictions be based on defined
15 just cause reasons, for certain dwelling units within the municipality.
16Section 3. Exemptions. (a) For the purposes of this chapter, covered dwelling units shall
17 not include:
18(i) Dwelling units in owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units.
19(ii) Dwelling units whose rent is subject to regulation by a public authority. Occupancy
20 by a tenant with a mobile housing voucher does not exempt an otherwise covered dwelling unit.
21(iii) College or university dormitories where group sleeping accommodations are
22 provided in one room, or in a series of closely associated rooms.
23(iv) Facilities for the residential care of the elderly.
24(v) Dwelling units for which the first residential certificate of occupancy was issued on or
25 after January 1, 2021 shall be exempt for a period of 5 years from the date at which such
26 certificate of occupancy was issued.
27(b) Where dwelling units are exempt, a notice of exemption must be provided with the
28 lease for all tenancies. If there is no written lease for such dwelling units, the tenants-at-will must
29 be provided with a written notice of exemption prior to the acceptance of the initial rent
30 payment.
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31Section 4. (a) The limit on any annual rent increase for a covered dwelling unit as defined
32 in Section 3(a) shall not exceed the annual change in the Consumer Price Index for the applicable
33 area or 5 per cent, whichever is lower.
34(b) For purposes of this chapter, the rent amount in place 12 months prior to the date of
35 adoption shall serve as the base rent upon which any annual rent increase shall be applied. If the
36 dwelling unit is currently vacant, the last rent amount charged shall serve as the base rent. If
37 there was no previous rent amount, or if no rent has been charged for at least the previous five
38 years, for a dwelling unit not exempted under Section 3(a) the rent amount the owner first
39 charges shall serve as the base rent.
40Section 5. (a) Cities and towns adopting this chapter shall require that any landlord have
41 just cause for initiating eviction or not renewing a lease; just cause is defined as follows:
42(i) Nonpayment of rent
43(ii) Refusal to accept a rent increase permitted under this chapter
44(iii) Owner seeks to remove the unit from the rental market to convert to cooperative or
45 condominium, provided that owner demonstrate compliance with G.L. ch. 183A, Chapter 527 of
46 the Acts of 1983, or locally-enacted ordinance governing conversions to cooperative or
47 condominiums
48(iv) Owner seeks to demolish or convert to non-residential use, or to occupy the unit as
49 the owner’s principal residence
50(v) Tenant commits a substantial violation of a material lease term or material term of the
51 tenancy
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52(vi) Tenant engages in criminal activity or behavior that threatens the health and safety of
53 other residents, or persons lawfully on the premises
54(vii) Tenant creates a public nuisance in the unit
55(viii) Tenant causes substantial damage to the unit
56Section 6. Cities and towns adopting this chapter shall provide annual reports to the
57 executive office of housing and livable communities which shall include but not be limited to:
58 the text of the ordinance or bylaw adopting this chapter; any studies undertaken in informing
59 adoption of the ordinance or bylaw; the number of units affected by the ordinance or bylaw; and
60 any other relevant data as determined by the executive office of housing and livable
61 communities.
62Section 7. (a) Any violation of this Chapter shall be deemed an unfair and deceptive act
63 under chapter 93A of the General Laws. Any person claiming a violation of this section may
64 pursue remedies under section 9 of chapter 93A. The attorney general is hereby authorized to
65 bring an action under section 4 of chapter 93A to enforce this provision and to obtain restitution,
66 civil penalties, injunctive relief, and any other relief awarded pursuant to said chapter 93A; (b) If
67 a landlord is found to have violated section (4) subsections (a) or (b), the tenant or former tenant,
68 upon proof of the same, shall be awarded actual damages or three times the rent amount,
69 whichever is greater, and attorneys’ fees; (c) If a landlord initiates summary process proceedings
70 or otherwise requests that a tenant vacate for a reason not enumerated in section (5), the tenant
71 shall recover possession and shall be awarded damages in the amount of three times the rent
72 amount, in addition to any actual damages incurred by the tenant, and attorneys’ fees.
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73Section 8. Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with any existing rights
74 or protections afforded to tenants under current state or federal law.
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