A Letter from Boston Renters

A photo of the John Hancock building was taken in 2021 is compared to a new building under construction blocking the view of the Hancock building in 2025.

A major coastal city in the United States often holds the weight and attraction of U.S. populations. Typically within the epicenters of gentrification, their lower-income residents witness infrastructure reshaping, expansion in the business sectors, and new property development that do not consider, and are likely to harm them.  

Boston, Massachusetts residents may expect the recent promotional efforts to highlight their city globally, like implementing entertainment-induced tourism that should benefit them. However, the light on Boston has helped attract the business of real estate investors and property developers, in addition to already rising property values. The ever-growing infrastructure of the municipality reflects an established education, healthcare, and tech hub, which may unethically prioritize certain renters.

The competition for rental units among longtime residents and those who can better afford the new costs are on the rise as supply is lacking. As a result, rent control is back up for discussion since its 1994 ban.    

“I'm renting a unit from a family home. I'm renting out one of the floors, but I've never really had luck finding a place, like going on the waitlist or going to, you know, apartments.com or Zillow; it's always been like word of mouth,” said Roxbury resident Sheena Quintyne, 41. “So that’s what made things a little easier when you're just looking for units that are through somebody that you know, because then you're more likely to find something that's reasonably within your means,” she continued. 

Northeastern University’s Political Economist Barry Bluestone, reported that wage and rent gaps reveal the average Boston resident is rent-burdened at around 47% of their income. With a rent hike of around 6%, and wage decrease by 1% between 2022 and 2023, the gap wages a dismissal of residents who cannot meet costs. 

Seven in 10 residents surveyed by the MassINC Polling Group said their monthly housing payments are "somewhat of a burden" (34%) or a "very big burden" (37%), reported NBC Boston. The 21% of those surveyed foresee themselves leaving in the next five years if rent prices do not stabilize.

“I, as well as other people growing up in Boston, remember when a unit was really cheap, really affordable; just seeing the dramatic increase over time, especially over the past 15, 20 years, you just are less hopeful about the conventional ways of finding an apartment.” Quintyne continued, “I've tried to, as best as I can, duck just the whole logistics of the dramatic rent increases.”

Boston’s offering of housing subsidies for low to moderate income residents have yet to offset the price of living in the city, especially with slim eligibility, and a limited number of landlords accepting subsidies. 

“If you get a decent job, even though you have a subsidy, like you're on an income- based program, it can still be a hard hit,” said Dorchester homeowner Shakir Thaice, 37.  “Like, you make this amount of money now, even though it's more, they're taking more, and you're paying just as much as market rent, just slightly lower.”

Boston’s public discourse on a reestablished rent control policy surfaced around 2019, and continued to escalate with rent prices. In 2022, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu put together the Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee to research and review data on rent caps. The Home Rule Petition was formed and approved by the Boston City Council in 2023. 

"This is a monumental act for the city of Boston," said City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo. "I commend the mayor for moving forward with the rent stabilization plan to address what has been and is an ongoing, long-standing issue of price gouging and rent gouging and displacement of residents of the city of Boston."

Mayor Wu’s proposal, currently in legislative hands, caps the annual rent percentage to 6% after the federal Consumer Price Index, with a 10% maximum exception for inflation. The policy would involve rental protection for renters, and include exemptions for some rent property owners. Renters have yet to hear a grumble from state representatives. 

Mattapan resident Allen Patterson, 43, said, “it should be capped on how many years you are able to do it. If you did it one year, it should be like two years before you could raise it another six or so. To me, you can't just keep raising rent on everybody. You can't keep raising prices every year – every day; everyone doesn't get raises every day.”

Wu’s proposal missed the 2024 ballot by a lot, because it has yet to make its way past the state level. Constituents and officials who view the rent cap as crippling and counterproductive to both low income renters and housing providers, project lower quality units, limited investors; it promotes class-level segregation, and slow economic development in the region. 

“People think of it as anti-capitalism to put caps on things, but even the NBA that makes billions of dollars a salary, caps. Patterson continued, “It’s an equalization thing.”

“I know somebody who was paying $2000. Now they're paying $2,500, and they used to give a money order. Now they're giving their bank account info, and whether it's in your account or not, the landlord's getting the $2,500 on the first,” said Quintyne. “So, those kinds of things do make me a little anxious.”

The City of Boston affordable housing resource page suggests, “you may be able to find housing that is affordable for you in the private market with a little creativity, planning and flexibility,” like a roommate or two, or three… Start a rental during “off-peak” season; ask friends or neighbors, broaden your search area, apply often, and negotiate lower rent. As underwhelming as the tips are for those ineligible of subsidies, Boston residents are utilizing these, and other alternatives to help fan the blaze of rent burden. Many Boston residents are getting creative, and are leveraging many available living situations. 

An AI generated image.

I feel like rent prices guided my decision to home ownership. I felt like rent will continue to rise. It's not going to get any cheaper. And also, I want to stay in the city,” said Thaice. “So, it was like my only option to stay, and I didn't want to rent forever – having a mortgage, it's a bit more stable than the rising cost of rent.”

As the city continues to adjust to its economic trajectory, and implement methods to alleviate rent hardship; it released an “Anti-Displacement Action Plan” in March of 2025.  The net designed for those affected by economic displacement seems to emphasize the displaced need for flexibility, like applying for financial support to pool finances with others to buy a multi-family home. The increase in housing in a rapidly, ever-growing and transplant-attracting region, may make it difficult for Boston’s longtime residents to ever catch up. 

“I think landlords, most landlords are greedy. I don't think all, but those people who were raising prices during Covid [Covid 19 pandemic] when they knew everybody was out of work, or whatever was going on; that was usually driven by something else, mostly greed,” said Patterson. “So, that is what that's [rent control] supposed to be protecting you from. Everybody's trying to be rich. It's the American way. I get that. I just don't think everybody should be okay with being rich by making people homeless.”