‘Devil is in the details’: What Massachusetts can learn about rent control from Portland, Maine

PORTLAND, ME — This fall, Massachusetts voters will likely weigh in on whether the state should have rent control.

No community here has capped annual increases in rent for more than 30 years.

Interest is now high as the cost to get an apartment has soared.

Portland, Maine, instituted rent control on January 1^st, 2021, after a voter initiative passed.

With a dynamic art scene, live music, unique shops and a wide array of restaurants, this waterfront city has seen a renaissance in recent years.

“I think now we’re considered the place to live,” said Mayor Mark Dion. “Everyone wants to be here because they want to be close to the activities that make this a successful city. So, there’s a premium that comes with that.”

That premium in Portland was soaring rents.

More than half the residents are tenants.

The rent control ordinance passed by a margin of 58% to 42%.

“Oh my gosh, it was, it has been such a relief,” said Giselle Taylor, a graduate student who also works in the service industry.

She says she probably would have had to move out of Portland if rent increases weren’t capped.

“It would be a lot more obsessive checking of my bank accounts, definitely I would say a lot more job instability, constantly trying to jump from workplace to workplace to try to make sure I get enough for that next multi-hundred dollar increase I know is coming.”

Lila Kohrman, chair of the Portland Tenants Union, said “Rent control is a tool to stabilize rents and protect tenants from price gouging and gentrification.”

She believes it also helps protect the local workforce.

“We rely on essential workers who work in the grocery stores and who work at the schools and who work in the businesses downtown that the tourism industry relies upon. Those people need to be able to afford safe and stable housing.”

This fall, Massachusetts voters will most likely determine whether rent control should be re-instated here.

Annual increases would be capped at the rate of inflation, up to 5%.

Buildings less than 10 years old would be exempted.

According to www.bostonpads.com, rent in Boston went up on average 12.8% in 2022 and 13.4% in 2023.

In Portland, the increases were 7.0% and 2.0% for the corresponding years, according to city data.

The Portland business community believes rent control isn’t the right answer to the problem of rising rents.

Ned Payne is a local developer and landlord.

“When rent control first passed, people were scared. People still are scared. It’s taken a while to sink in all the externalities that have come with it.”

He says rent control makes renovations and upkeep impossible.

“Through one year, two years, there’s not a big change, three years is not a big change. But eventually you need to start painting the exterior of your building. You need to replace your roof. And these are improvements that people are starting to put off further and further, kicking the can down the road.”

Both sides of the issue agree the long-term solution is to expand the supply of housing.

Payne, however, says new development has taken a big hit.

“Why would a developer build in Portland when they can build in surrounding towns where rent control doesn’t exist? So, rent control at the end of the day does not incentivize the creation of new housing.”

Kohrman responded, “We can’t snap our fingers and build thousands of new affordable housing units overnight. So rent control has been enormously protective for tenants in Portland.”

“The devil is totally in the details,” said Mayor Dion.

He believes some of Portland’s problems can be traced to the fact that this was a citizen’s initiative and not a bill that went through hearings and deliberations before becoming law.

In Maine, an initiative must stand “as is” for five years.

“So that would be my caution to a community. Rent control has promise, but it also has significant challenges in its own right in terms of managing it and ensuring that all parties, both property owners and tenants, feel there’s equity and fairness.”

The proponents of the Massachusetts initiative need to check a few more boxes, but expectations are that rent control will be on the ballot in November.

Governor Maura Healey says she will vote no, fearing it would stunt housing development.

Boston Mayor Michele Wu says she will vote for it, saying it’s not perfect but it’s better than nothing.

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