Renters Rights Measures Advance in US Local Elections

Housing costs have risen across the United States in recent years while tenant rights organizers report growing support for rent control and related policies in local elections. These measures are appearing on ballots and in campaigns for city council, mayor and other offices.

In Massachusetts a proposed ballot question could overturn the state's three-decade ban on rent control and cap annual increases at 5 percent. A coalition of housing, faith and labor groups gathered more than 124000 signatures within two months, exceeding the requirement to place the measure before voters in November.

The coalition joined forces last year and recruited volunteers to support the effort. A spokesperson for the group said they are proud to be part of the national movement for rent control and tenant protections. Tenant rights organizers said policies previously considered too extreme have become central to some political campaigns.

The term renter has become an identity for candidates in races for local office and Congress.

Providence the median rent has increased 40 percent since 2020. A coalition of tenant advocacy groups mobilized hundreds of residents to testify at public hearings in support of rent stabilization. The city council approved an ordinance in early April to limit annual rent increases to 4 percent in most apartment buildings.

The mayor vetoed the measure, stating that it would depress housing construction and property values. Organizers said they will continue efforts to override the veto. The group has endorsed a renter and state assembly member in the September mayoral primary who said he would sign a rent stabilization ordinance.

The candidate said his own experience with housing instability as a child motivated his campaign. He cited the trend of longtime residents being priced out of the city.

A progressive political organization launched a campaign last October to increase the number of renters in elected office. Of 275 candidates endorsed for the midterms more than one-third are renters while renters make up 2 percent to 7 percent of elected officials nationwide.

In Washington DC a tenant organizer and renter is running for ward 1 council. The candidate cited the gap between renter experiences and policies favored by the current council. A ballot measure drafted by another tenant group would implement a two-year rent freeze, change public land development practices and limit affordable housing to those making less than $60000 a year.

Organizers have recruited more than 200 volunteers though they will not meet the signature threshold for the 2026 ballot and are instead targeting a special election next year. Nearly half of American renters spend about a third of their income on rent according to a 2024 Harvard University report.

Organizers in multiple cities described housing affordability as an acute problem for both working-class and middle-class voters. Cities including New York, San Francisco and Portland have enacted tenant protection laws in recent years. Supporters said the trend is motivating more voters to support housing measures on ballots.