You've probably heard that Massachusetts has a housing problem. It costs a lot of money to keep a roof over your head, and renters across Western Massachusetts say they're getting squeezed too tight.
In Easthampton, tenants at the Pleasant View Apartments have held rallies against the building's new owners -- a real estate investment firm from Connecticut, that since buying the property last November have increased some rents by as much as thirty five per-cent. Tenant Kate Zenetta lives there with her daughter... she's frustrated with how quickly the rent hike came, and the lack of communication from the new landlords.
"Nobody should be in the situation where their housing — literally a necessity — should be able to be pulled out from under them at a moment's notice," she said.
In Springfield Tyler Jones has started a tenant organization for the building he pays $1,200 to live in on Dickinson Street, which he says has been plagued by water damage and leaks.
"That's kind of frustrating," he expressed. "Knowing I'm paying enough to expect that my apartment should be taken care of by the person I'm paying."
And in Northampton, a new tenants rights group is aiming to connect renters from multiple properties in hopes of creating an organized resistance to rising rents across the city.
Cel Humphries is a tenant involved, and they say the increased costs are pricing out members of the community.
"All of these rent hikes and all of this pressure is making it harder for the people who make this city what it is to be here," they explained. "I want to keep living here. I want this community to flourish."
It all leaves one nagging question: Why are rents so expensive? The simple, if unsatisfying, answer is that almost everything is more expensive now than it was 10-15 years ago. Those extra costs for landlords -- things like general property upkeep, insurance fees, and maintenance -- are passed on to tenants.
But another piece of the puzzle is the huge amount of cash sloshing around. For many, owning private property is a business, and that can lead to decisions that hurt renters, as building owners see it as an investment first, and housing second.
Keith Fair, CEO and President of the Springfield-based housing agency Wayfinders, says many landlords raise rents to keep pace with their increased costs. But there are also what he calls 'bad actors': landlords who want to maximize the return on their investment, regardless of how it impacts tenants.
"They're in it to make money," he explained. "I think it's the way we do real estate in this country, right? We said the private market should create real estate for people. And we're gonna use this housing finance system, and there are incentives in there to make a lot of money."
Fair pointed to a recent local example of a 'bad actor,' a former Springfield landlord that owned around 60 properties between 2020 and 2024, known as Springfield Gardens. The buildings became notorious for for their lack of maintenance — plagued with mold, pests, and other issues. The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced in early September they had reached a $10 million settlement with the New Jersey-based real estate investment firm behind the operation, Schweb Partners. As part of the settlement, they will no longer be able to own or manage properties in the Bay State.
But how can tenants find relief? Housing advocates point to regulation, like rent control — limiting the amount a landlord could increase the rent on a property each year. There's just one big problem: rent control has been illegal in Massachusetts since 1994. A recent ballot measure approved by the state's Attorney General could bring it back, capping rent increases year-over-year to 5 per-cent. A similar measure moving through the state legislature would let cities and towns regulate their local rents. But Fair says that rent control is not the silver bullet that will fix the affordability crisis for tenants.
"That doesn't reduce your rent, it just limits the level of increase," Fair said. "So for everyone that's already cost-burdened, you're still gonna be cost-burdened."
Fair says that Massachusetts already has programs to bring relief to renters, like the state's Rental Voucher Program, or RAFT: Rental Assistance For Families in Transition. But right now, those programs have gaps — things like income thresholds — that leave some tenants ineligible. Fair says the state might need to get more creative with those dollars to best serve the people who need it.
"I think what we need to be looking at is our complete spend on housing, and the efficacy of those programs today," Fair explained. "Are they solving the problems for everyday people? If we're not getting the outcomes these programs were created for, we should have a forward-looking approach and use the big spend we have every year — it's hundreds of millions of dollars — to be as effective as possible."
Until then — some tenants in Western Massachusetts are hoping by organizing and banding together, they can push their landlords, their community, and their state to help them stay housed.
