Rent control question cannot appear on ballot in November, Massachusetts' highest court rules

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday that a rent control ballot question cannot appear on this November's ballot.

The state's highest court said the ballot question would have exempted religious facilities. Questions relating to religion are not allowed on state ballots.

"Because of this exemption, we conclude that the petition 'relates to religion, religious practices or religious institution,' an excluded matter under Art. 48 of the Amendments of the Massachusetts Constitution," Justice Frank Gaziano wrote in the 27-page ruling.

A group called "Homes for All Massachusetts" put the ballot initiative together and collected the necessary amount of signatures to be on the November ballot.

The proposed ballot question would have capped annual rent increases at 5% per year. Owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units would have been exempt. Newly constructed buildings would have also been exempt for the first 10 years.

Organizers of the rent control ballot initiative said it would help fix the housing crisis and encourage more people to stay in Massachusetts instead of moving out of state.

Multiple real estate groups opposed the proposal. The Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and NAIOP Massachusetts said in a joint statement in November that the proposed ballot question "creates the most restrictive rent control program in the entire United States and forces it on every city and town across the Commonwealth."

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also said in March that she opposes rent control.

"Rent control, as proposed in that ballot question, has already halted housing production in our state," Healey said at the time.

Voters in Massachusetts eliminated rent control in 1994.

WBZ-TV reached out to Homes for All Massachusetts for comment on the SJC's decision but has not yet heard back.