Just-cause eviction: Rent control by another name
In a 1994 statewide referendum, Massachusetts voters chose to ban rent control in the Bay State; but a new proposal currently before the Boston City Council threatens to re-impose the outlawed practice through the back door.
On March 14, the Boston City Council held a public hearing on the topic of a just-cause eviction ordinance for 60 to 70 percent of Boston's rental housing. The hearing was, by all accounts, raucous. In the packed council chamber with overflow crowds in the hallway and two other rooms, both sides – landlords and tenants – clapped energetically after especially impactful speakers, despite Council rules against such outbursts. That housing policy should be made in this fashion already speaks badly for the proposal. The general issue is what to do about rising rents, especially when older housing is bought, long-term tenants are evicted, the building is gut-rehabbed, and the newly renovated units are rented at much higher rents or sold as high-end condos. The issue is a compelling one, and the advocates are pushing it. But just-cause eviction is a very crude tool to use for it.
