Rent Stabilization: Quick Political Fix or Long-Term Supply Problem?
State-wide rent stabilization almost made it on the ballot this year. While the ballot question was blocked by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, home rule petitions for rent control are still being discussed in some cities and towns as an alternate route. So let's talk about housing affordability in Medford, MA and if rent increase caps help it.
In the linked video, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Justin de Benedictis-Kessner claims that while rent control provides short-term benefits to renters, it often hurts housing affordability and long-term housing supply. Some studies have shown that rent-controlled units lose their valuation due to rent control. Because the total tax levy doesn't change for the city, the single-family homeowners are assessed with another tax hike, as they are forced to pick up a larger share of a city's property tax burden.
Six of seven of Medford's City Councilors support rent stabilization by making public statements about it and/or through their membership in Our Revolution Medford (Rent stabilization is a core policy plank of the OR Medford platform). This is relevant because certain members of our legislature want to permit towns and cities to enact rent control policies. If that happened, we could see rent control in Medford under this council.
Nearly all the candidates for the State House of Representatives 34th Middlesex District and/or the State Senate 2nd Middlesex District support allowing rent stabilization in some form. Are these folks onto something? Or do you think that rent cap policies would stunt the housing development in Medford?