Join the bus from Springfield – go here to register and more details will follow (departing at 9:30 am from Springfield).
And read on for the call to action from our partners at Springfield No One Leaves and Homes for All MA:
It’s time to cap these sky-high rents and real estate greed in Massachusetts! We’re going back to the State House to rally and testify for rent control bills, S.1447 / H.2328!
Following the rent control rally, we will rally at the State House for Massachusetts community members to give testimony in support of lifting the ban on rent control. The hearing has many legislative proposals, but we won’t let the state house bury the rent control bill! Lifting the ban on rent control will give municipalities local control and the ability to address the crisis in ways that meet the needs of our communities.
How to support this action and testify!
- RSVP for rally here
- Find the testimony guide here
- Email written testimony here: jointcommittee.municipalities®ionalgovernment@malegislature.gov
- Sign up to testify in person or virtually here, BEFORE deadline: 3PM Monday, July 28
- Use testimony talking points WITH your personal story. Find talking points here.
- Share the flyer here!
New MA Numbers on the High Cost of Rent
The National Low Income Housing Coalition just released its updated report Out of Reach 2025: The High Cost of Housing
The report’s central statistic, the Housing Wage, is an estimate of the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home at HUD’s fair market rent (FMR) without spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs – the accepted standard of affordability. The FMR is an estimate of what a family moving today can expect to pay for a modestly priced rental home in a given area.
It will come as no surprise just how “out of reach” Massachusetts housing is for low-wage workers, seniors, families, and other renters:
- Massachusetts ranks as the 4th Highest Housing Wage
- $45.90/hour is required to afford a 2 bedroom rental home
- 122 hour work week at the minimum wage to afford a 2 bedroom rental home
Read more about Massachusetts here.
And let’s get to that rent control rally and hearing in whatever way we can!
