Overview:
Greenfield's City Council has unanimously approved a resolution supporting rent control measures, including proposed state legislation and a ballot petition initiative. The legislation and ballot petition initiative aim to limit rent increases to "not exceed the annual change in the Consumer Price Index for the applicable area or 5%, whichever is lower," and include a number of exemptions for small properties and new construction. The council hopes its support of the initiative will signal to state legislators that they need to take steps to address soaring housing costs if they do not want "a blunt tool" like a ballot initiative to regulate rent.
GREENFIELD — After lengthy public comment and the urging of residents, city councilors unanimously approved a resolution supporting rent control measures, including proposed state legislation and a ballot petition initiative.
The resolution, put forth by At-Large City Councilor Sara Brown, states that the city has seen “an explosive rise in housing costs” over the past decade, and to protect tenants, officials are in favor of efforts to limit rent increases through two bills before the state Legislature, along with a ballot petition.
If passed, both initiatives would limit rent increases to “not exceed the annual change in the Consumer Price Index for the applicable area or 5%, whichever is lower.” The proposals include a number of exemptions for small properties and new construction.
Several councilors expressed hesitancy to support a ballot petition initiative, but said after hearing overwhelming support from constituents, they hope their support will signal to state legislators that they need to take steps to address soaring housing costs if they do not want “a blunt tool” like a ballot initiative to regulate rent.
“I will admit I’m struggling a little bit with this, and I’m struggling a little bit less now after all of the emails that we were seeing and then many people who came out and gave us support in public comment tonight,” Precinct 2 Councilor Rachel Gordon said. “I hate legislating a ballot initiative; I think most of us do. I wish we had a Legislature that would, frankly, do it’s job so we didn’t have to rely on such a blunt instrument. … Hopefully it does send the message that we need the Legislature to act on this.”
Precinct 3 Councilor Ann Dillemuth said said that while she had originally thought research indicated rent control had negative long-term impacts, she’s found that the studies produced mixed results and used questionable methodologies.
“Looking more into the data, the outcomes are very uncertain and extremely context-dependent, so it’s very hard to say that there will absolutely be negative consequences. I saw the tough study with the alarming numbers about potential sharp decreases in municipal revenue, but then I’ve also seen the response to that that goes into the methodology that was used, and I agree that the methodology seems very questionable,” Dillemuth said. “Just hearing from the public tonight, and the immediacy of the issue right now, it seems very clear that we need to do something. And even though it may not be a perfect solution, it is a step in the right direction.”
Precinct 6 Councilor Patricia Williams said she lived in Brookline in the 1970s prior to rent control being banned in 1994. She said rent control helped her stay afloat, get ahead and provide a good future for her son.
At-Large Councilor Wahab Minhas said the rent control proposals include exemptions for small landlords — specifically, the provisions exempt dwelling units in owner-occupied buildings that have four or fewer apartments — and focus on limiting large corporations that have been buying up properties and increasing rents.
Residents weigh in
During the approximately two hours of public comment, only two individuals spoke against rent control. Both were landlords who own property in Greenfield, but live in other communities. Fourteen individuals spoke in favor of rent control.
Allen Constantine of Gill is president of the Landlords Business Association. He said that if rent control passes, landlords will begin increasing their rents every year, even if they don’t do so already, to create a buffer for any unforeseen costs or inflation.
“I’ve been doing this for 50 years. I’ve never raised rent every year, but now, since I don’t know what’s gonna happen the year after, I’m gonna have to,” Constantine said. “In many years past, I’ve had tenants who had problems financially or medically, and I wouldn’t raise the rent for a very long time just to help them out, knowing that eventually they’d move and I’d be able to recoup the regular, proper amount at that time. Now that can’t happen, so I can’t be a nice guy anymore.”
He added that in Greenfield, a large portion of the housing stock consists of older buildings that need to be rehabbed, and with rent control, landlords won’t be able to recoup the costs for renovating properties, and repairs and maintenance will lag.
Madden Aleia owns a home on High Street, and said that rent control also benefits homeowners, as stabilizing housing costs can reduce levels of homelessness, and therefore potentially decrease the need for crisis intervention and other social services that can impact municipal budgets and property taxes.
“I want to see less for crisis intervention, especially for homelessness and addiction, and we know statistically that those are things that are tied directly to housing stability, and a lot of money goes into those here,” Aleia said. “The financial situation of renters affects me directly, it affects homeowners and our property values, because Greenfield needs to be a city where people can afford to live and start businesses.”
She also argued against claims that rent control prevents landlords from making repairs, and said many landlords already do not make repairs, despite being able to increase rents.
“I push back against the idea that all of these things are going to suddenly pop up when we have any type of stabilization, and landlords saying that a regulated housing market would take away their ability to be a nice guy is exactly why we need a regulated housing market,” Aleia said. “Because whether you get to live in a house that is safe and have shelter that doesn’t gouge you year by year should not just be dependent on someone’s mood.”
Northampton resident Jordi Herold, who owns rental properties on Bank Row, said he understands where renters are coming from and he is aware of the affordability struggles, but he wants city councilors to be cognizant of the challenges associated with a blanket 5% or CPI limited cap, and how costs associated with owning buildings can go beyond 5%.
“There are real numbers that impact landlords. Our insurance went up 27% on the buildings in Greenfield from 2025 to 2026, and 100% over the course of the time we’ve owned the buildings,” Herold said. “As a landlord, you still need to service everything that’s related to buildings. The electric is up 13% year over year, the gas — and these are all free included services within the rent — is up 18% year over year. I’m not saying what the exact answer is, but there also has to be an educated look at this that is more than just an us/them situation.”
Dionn Casanova grew up in Greenfield, graduated from Greenfield High School in 2019 and went off to college to study political science. He’s now 25, returned to Greenfield and lives with several roommates because he can’t afford rent on his own. He said this experience is common among young people, who are being pushed out of the places where they grew up.
“Everyone I graduated college with, we all have roommates. We’re all in the same age group and no one can afford to live on their own because of the insane prices, as well as the lack of high-paying jobs in the area,” Casanova said. “I support rent control because I want to establish community. … I love the city, I love coming here, love supporting local business. I just can’t afford it. I look forward to a future where I can raise children here, have a family here and be happy in a place like Greenfield. I just don’t know how we can do that without something like rent control.”
After discussion, City Council President Lora Wondolowski called for a roll call vote, and all 11 members voted to approve the resolution, which they hope will force the state to take action and approve legislation that allows municipalities to opt into rent control, rather than allow the regulation to come via a ballot initiative in November.
“I hope [members of] the Legislature will do their job and do the nuance to make this better and more workable for cities and towns than what’s going on the ballot,” Wondolowski said. “But it’s also important we get these costs under control for renters. Because we have such a low vacancy rate in Greenfield, people have no choice but really expensive apartments, and some of them are in really bad shape and that’s not OK.”
