Article Title
The Repeal of Rent Control in Cambridge
Abstract
In the November 8, 1994, state election, Massachusetts voters approved a question placed on the ballot by initiative petition passing a law that effectively outlawed rent control throughout the commonwealth. This law had its most dramatic effect in Cambridge, where a stringent rent control system had been in effect since 1970. The success of the petition was realized primarily through the grassroots efforts of a coalition of small-property owners in Cambridge who felt aggrieved by the city's rent control system. The use of a statewide vote on an initiative petition to enact a law with predominantly local effect created for its proponents a variety of legal and political problems. These were overcome one by one through lawsuits and volunteer efforts in which failure was repeatedly averted by slender margins. This article is a detailed account of that process.
Recommended Citation
Moncreiff, Robert P.
(1996)
"The Repeal of Rent Control in Cambridge,"
New England Journal of Public Policy: Vol. 12:
Iss.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/nejpp/vol12/iss1/6
Included in
Housing Law Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Public Policy Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons