Wu Backs Statewide Rent Control Measure Via Proposed Ballot Question

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she would vote in favor of the statewide rent-control ballot measure if it remains on the fall ballot. 

During an appearance on GBH's Boston Public Radio program on Tuesday, Feb. 10, Wu confirmed her position on the matter. Wu has long backed rent control and favors local control over a blanket statewide cap. She acknowledges, however, that the measure isn't perfect and believes voting yes is preferable while pursuing better options.

According to a Boston.com report, the ballot measure, if approved by voters, would cap annual rent increases statewide at 5%. Exceptions would apply to owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units and to newly constructed buildings in their first 10 years.

Wu previously backed a Boston-only inflation-based cap in 2023. Her proposal at the time would have set annual maximum allowable rent increases to the change in the Consumer Price Index plus 6%, or a maximum increase of 10%, whichever was lower. The plan eventually died in the State House. 

While the ballot measure under consideration is not ideal, Wu said that astronomical housing costs require action.

“I'm not going to let perfect be the enemy of the good in this case when there is so much urgency and pressure from housing costs on our residents,” she stated.

Not everyone in Massachusetts is getting behind the ballot proposal. Gov. Maura Healey said in December 2025 that she would not vote for the proposal. While she acknowledged the increasing cost of housing as a “crisis,” she believes that the answer is not rent control. Massachusetts needs to build more housing, according to Healey.

Opponents of the ballot measure, including several real estate industry professionals, believe rent control is a flawed idea. They claim it would slow housing construction and lead to higher rents. Contrarian Boston reported in December that opponents of the ballot question plan to spend up to $30 million on anti-rent-control ads. These individuals have also filed a lawsuit that aims to disqualify the ballot measure, according to the CommonWealth Beacon.