---
title: Get the Facts | Commonwealth Housing Alliance
description: Join the Commonwealth Housing Alliance coalition to get powerful updates on the 2026 rent control ballot. Sign up for trusted housing advocacy news today.
---

# Get the Facts on Rent Control

 Housing costs are too high. Research shows rent control will have devastating consequences in every community in Massachusetts.

### A Real Problem. The Wrong Solution.

 94% of voters agree housing costs are too high.

 But decades of research from leading institutions show that rent control does nothing to solve the housing crisis and places the burden directly on taxpayers.

![Image B5](https://www.commonwealthhousing.org/hubfs/Image%20B5.png)

### What the Research Shows

**

##### We Need Better Housing Options. Not Failed Policies.

 Massachusetts needs roughly [222,000 new homes](https://www.mass.gov/news/healey-driscoll-administration-releases-states-first-ever-comprehensive-housing-plan) over the next decade. Rent control does nothing to build the housing we need.

**

##### Your Property Taxes Will Increase

 According to researchers at [Tufts](https://www.governing.com/urban/massachusetts-rent-control-could-cut-property-values-by-300-billion-study-says), Massachusetts cities and towns would face tax hikes of at least 10 percent or deep cuts to public services like police, fire, schools, and snow removal.

**

##### The Value of Your Home Will Go Down

[Tufts](https://mahousingsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GBREB-2026-Rent-Control-Study-FINAL.pdf) also projects that property values could decline by nearly 14% over time—reducing funding for schools, police, fire, and other critical municipal services. A 14% reduction in property values would cost Massachusetts home and property owners roughly $300 billion.

**

##### Rent Control Destroys What It Promises to Protect

[Stanford University](https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20181289) found that San Francisco’s expanded rent control reduced rental housing by 15%, causing a 5.1% city-wide rent increase.

### We’ve Seen This Before

 Rent Control Failed in Massachusetts

 When rent control [ended in Cambridge](https://economics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/publications/housing%20market%202014.pdf), property values increased significantly and new housing construction rose sharply.

 Policies that do not create better housing options make our housing crisis worse.

 Rent control is not the answer. It never was.

![Image B6](https://www.commonwealthhousing.org/hubfs/Image%20B6.png)

# The Bottom Line

 We all want to make housing more affordable. Rent control isn’t the answer. We can’t afford policies that raise taxes, reduce home values, or cut our services.

# Learn the Facts. Take Action.

[ Protect Your Home ](https://www.commonwealthhousing.org/join-the-coalition?hsLang=en)