Rent Control Ballot Blocked
State Supreme Court Blocks Massachusetts Rent Control Ballot Due to Religious Exemption
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Key Points
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The court ruled the ballot question 'impermissibly relates to religion and religious institutions,' meaning religion is a factor in its application and thus cannot go to voters under the state Constitution.
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The decision highlights that enforcement would require officials to determine whether a facility is 'operated solely for ... religious purposes,' tying the legal outcome to a facility’s religious use and creating potential constitutional concerns about enforcement.
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The measure would confer preferential treatment on religious institutions by allowing them to increase rent prices while limiting increases for secular facilities, a point the court identified in its reasoning.
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Attorney General Andrea Campbell had certified the petition for the ballot and defended it as a non-discriminatory rent-control matter, but she herself described the ballot-certification process as 'stupid' and in need of a revamp.
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Reaction from opponents cited by the courts’ ruling emphasized protecting the housing market; Real estate groups praised the decision as safeguarding the housing pipeline, with Conor Yunits noting the coalition’s thanks and a focus on building more homes instead of broad rent-control measures. Four opponents of rent control filed the lawsuit that led to the ruling.
Massachusetts' highest court has thrown out a proposed rent-control ballot question, ruling it cannot go before voters in November. The Supreme Judicial Court found that a religious exemption buried in the measure makes religion a factor in its enforcement — a violation of the state Constitution, according to CBS News.
The decision kills a measure that would have repealed the state's 32-year-old ban on rent control and capped annual rent increases at 5% or inflation, whichever was lower — potentially the strictest such law in the country, Commonwealth Beacon reported.
Religious Exemption Becomes the Measure's Fatal Flaw
The ballot question would have exempted housing units "operated solely for religious purposes" from its rent caps. That single carve-out doomed the entire measure. Justice Frank Gaziano wrote that the exemption "impermissibly makes religion a factor" in the law's application, according to GBH News. Officials enforcing the law would have been forced to judge whether a facility qualifies as religious — something the state Constitution forbids in a ballot initiative.
The ruling pointed to Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution, which bars ballot questions from relating to "religion, religious practices or religious institutions." The court found the exemption also gives religious facilities preferential treatment. They could raise rents freely while secular landlords faced caps, NBC Boston reported.
Tenant Groups Lose Their Best Shot at Statewide Caps
Advocates had gathered 88,132 signatures to put the question on the ballot. They called it an "emergency brake" on displacement, noting that more than half of Boston renters already spend over 30% of their income on housing. State Representative Mike Connolly and the Homes for All Massachusetts coalition had spent years building the campaign. Carolyn Chou, the group's executive director, argued a ballot vote was the only way around a gridlocked state legislature.
The court's ruling cuts off that path entirely. Tenant organizers called it a missed chance to address a real affordability crisis. A Suffolk University and Boston Globe poll from late 2025 showed 62.6% of Massachusetts voters supported the measure before the legal challenge was decided, according to MassLive.
Real Estate Industry Praises the Ruling as a Housing Win
Four opponents — including property owners and real estate groups — filed the lawsuit that led to Tuesday's ruling. Conor Yunits, a spokesperson for the Better Boston Coalition, praised the court for "protecting the housing pipeline." Industry groups had argued the measure would have hit 50% to 75% of all rental housing in Massachusetts and frozen new development, according to CBS News.
Governor Maura Healey had already opposed the ballot measure in March 2026, saying it had "already halted housing production" by creating market uncertainty. Real estate analysts suggested the ruling would unfreeze stalled development projects across the state.
Attorney General Called the Ballot Process 'Stupid' Even While Defending It
Attorney General Andrea Campbell had certified the petition in September 2025 and argued in court that the measure was a secular rent-control matter, not a religious one. But Campbell herself called the state's ballot-certification process "stupid" and said it needs a "revamp," according to GBH News. The court disagreed with her legal defense and sided unanimously with the opponents.
With the ballot door closed, the fight shifts back to Beacon Hill. Governor Healey has signaled support for a legislative compromise rather than a broad ballot mandate. But the path for any rent-stabilization law through the state legislature remains narrow, Commonwealth Beacon reported.
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