Call to Action: Donate to SPOA Now to Resist Rent Control Ballot Initiative
by Amir Shahsavari and Allison Drescher
Dear SPOA Members and Supporters:
We need your help to stop the latest — and most radical — RENT CONTROL proposal that is heading to the ballot box. The organization, Homes For All Massachusetts, is working to obtain signatures to reinstate rent control in Massachusetts after voters banned the policy in 1994.
However, unlike the previous state law, this version does not create a local option for rent control, but mandates rent control in every one of our state's 351 cities and towns. If anything is certain in real estate markets, one size does not fit all!
The proposed law caps annual rent increases at 5 percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower. Only once over the past decade has CPI exceeded 5 percent, with the average increase from 2005 to 2024 just 2.57 percent. The proposed cap offers no appeal process and does not account for sharp increases in maintenance costs, property taxes, or insurance premiums, which together would nearly always amount to more than the allowed increase.
The measure would also stunt new housing production. Developers plan on the longer term. Knowing that rent caps will apply after ten years makes projects harder to finance, which means fewer homes get built. It also means that rent prices will continue to rise for tenants, while operating costs rise for property owners.
They say that insanity involves repeating a failed idea over again and expecting a different result. But what do you call it when the failed idea is taken to new extremes by radicals who willfully turn their backs to the truth?
Therefore, we are asking you to make a donation to SPOA — one larger than the $100 annual dues. Please consider donating one of the following amounts:
$500 $800 $1,000 $2,000 $5,000
We know that rent control made it difficult for property owners to collect their hard-earned rental income, and led to the disrepair of existing housing stock. It also made it more difficult for owners to remove noncompliant tenants from their properties for nonpayment, vandalism, and other contract breaches. This harmed not only the owners and their properties, but all the cooperative tenants who depended on their housing providers for safe, maintained living places.
Beyond Massachusetts, rent control has failed wherever it has been implemented — distorting housing markets, discouraging property investments, reducing the availability of rental units, and ultimately failing to address the root causes of housing affordability.
Shortly after rent control was implemented in St. Paul, Minnesota, as just one example, the migration of people and businesses to neighboring Minneapolis saw lower rents and more housing options in free-market Minneapolis, contrasting the rising rents and reduced housing availability in rent-controlled St. Paul — in what has truly been a tale of two cities. Only within a matter of months, the Mayor of St. Paul sought to walk back rent control after witnessing its damaging effects on the city. But after two years, efforts to walk back rent control have not been successful, which tells us that once the policy is implemented, it is very difficult to reverse!
As concerned small property owners, we cannot afford to sit idly by while our investments and the communities we serve are put at risk. As tenants struggle with rising rental prices, we should remind people that prices have gone up for everyone, including property owners who shoulder the rising costs of operating and maintaining property. This is due to a confluence of different factors, including strict zoning restrictions, imposed by government, for which property owners are not to blame.
Although rent control supporters claim that any criticism of rent control amounts to “fear mongering,” rent control itself is a political scam based on the politics of resentment directed at property owners, blaming us for a problem politicians don’t know how to solve. Tenant activists reject the facts about rent control due to their predatory thirst for control of the housing industry, rather than a genuine desire to solve the housing dilemma for everyone.
Therefore, we must unite and take a stand against rent control, advocating for better solutions that promote sustainable growth and affordable housing without stifling our rights as property owners. We play a vital role in sustaining our communities and the growth of other industries that depend upon us — from the tradespeople and materials suppliers to the banking, brokerage, and insurance industries, among others.
The real answer is that our local, state, and federal government must step up to build low-income housing, legislate incentives for private entities to build affordable housing, and grow rental aid for those in need.
Our mission at the Small Property Owners Association has always been to advocate for fair and equitable housing policies that support both property owners and tenants. We firmly believe that the best way to foster thriving communities is through collaboration and balanced regulations that encourage investment and growth.
To effectively combat rent control, we are launching a fundraising campaign to bolster our efforts in raising awareness about the negative impacts of rent control and lobbying for alternative housing policies that work for both property owners and tenants.
Your support is invaluable to our cause. By contributing to our fundraising efforts, you will help us engage in critical activities such as:
Public Awareness Campaigns: We will spread the message about the adverse effects of rent control through media campaigns, community events, and educational materials, informing the public and policymakers about the importance of preserving a fair and balanced housing market.
Advocacy and Lobbying: We will work tirelessly to represent our interests at the legislative level, engaging with policymakers to promote alternative housing policies that genuinely address housing affordability issues, while safeguarding our rights as property owners.
Legal Resources: In case rent control legislation is proposed, we will ensure that we have the necessary legal resources to challenge it in court if it violates our constitutional rights as property owners.
We don't have a large budget, as we are running on the shoestring. We need to ensure that we have boots on the ground, and that our content continues to reach the public.
Along with fighting the rent control ballot initiative, we remain bombarded by other proposals that threaten property rights on Beacon Hill, including other versions of rent control, as well as tenant right of first refusal, tenant credit check restrictions, more transfer taxes, and additional fines and penalties against property owners that make doing business untenable in Massachusetts. Our future success depends on our ability to remain in the thick of the fight with our experienced lobbying team on the ground, helping us and our members attend countless meetings and hearings — communicating with our legislators to advance our cause.
As always, we have continued to update you about pending legislation through our regular email updates. In addition, we keep bringing you monthly newsletters and more episodes of our podcast, SPOA Housing Policy Series, in which we discuss important housing issues with a variety of panelists, including small property owners, attorneys, real estate experts and advocates, government officials, people running for office, and news media reporters.
We also continue to give interviews and to have our own articles published in the media.
These efforts are challenging, and they should not be taken for granted. Clearly, our volunteers are dedicated. They provide quality work for free that would otherwise be expensive if outsourced to others. Moreover, our volunteers put in long hours away from their businesses and their families, fighting hard to protect the dignity of all our constituents, including people whom they have never even met. As they fight hard for you, they can’t succeed in their important work without your help and participation.
Together, we can make a real difference to save Massachusetts and protect our investments, our communities, and the future of housing in our state. Please consider contributing generously to our fundraising campaign. Every dollar counts and brings us closer to our goal of a fair and sustainable housing market.
To contribute, you can visit our website, www.spoa.com/join, or send your donations to 840 Summer St, Boston, MA 02127.
Additionally, we are open to discussing sponsorship opportunities for those willing to make a substantial impact on our advocacy efforts.
Let's stand together, united against rent control, and pave the way for a brighter future for property owners and tenants alike.
Sincerely,
Allison Drescher
President, SPOA
Amir Shahsavari
Vice President, SPOA
P.S. Please remember to donate generously to our campaign by considering one of the following amounts:
$500 $800 $1,000 $2,000 $5,000
Our property rights and the strength and safety of our communities depend on your financial support. Please stand with us today!
In addition, if you happen to see rent control supporters obtaining signatures in public, please email us with the location at askspoa@gmail.com
Thanks to our friends at the Greater Boston Real Estate Board for contributing information in this letter in their collaboration with the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.
by Amir Shahsavari and Allison Drescher
Call to Action: Contact Your Elected Officials Today to Support Rent Escrow via House Bill 1883
by Kelvin Akyeampong
On October 21, 2025, SPOA member Kelvin Akyeampong testified at the Massachusetts State House in support of House Bill 1883, filed by Rep. Paul McMurtry, which would allow for the creation of Rent Escrow Accounts to be established when there is a dispute between a tenant and a rental property owner.
Establishing a common sense and good faith Rent Escrow provision in this bill would be a win-win for all parties. Tenants would still be able to withhold rents if there were serious code and safety violations. At the same time, rental property owners would be protected, knowing that when a dispute is resolved, they will not be left with thousands of dollars in unpaid rent.
Per previous testimony provided by SPOA in recent years, our dispute resolution system is broken. It is difficult being a small housing provider in Massachusetts. State eviction laws and the onerous process can take years to conclude and potentially end in financial ruin for even the best and most conscientious rental property owners. Why should default laws that adhere to every other legal contract not exist between landlords and tenants?
This rent escrow proposal would be an easy fix that will make it easier for small property owners to operate, as well as make a serious dent, estimated by as much as 50 percent, in the housing courts caseload.
We will only find the answers to this daunting housing crisis by working together.
Below, you will find a written transcript of Kelvin's testimony before the Housing Committee, in addition to a video clip of his testimony on behalf of SPOA and all rental housing providers across Massachusetts. Beneath those links, you will find a letter that you can email to your elected officials, urging them to support Rent Escrow via House Bill 1883. Another link is provided to help you find your state representative and state senator. Please contact your elected officials and urge them to pass this bill today!
Written Transcript of SPOA's State House Testimony in Support of Rent Escrow House Bill 1883 on October 21, 2025
Good afternoon Chair Day, Chair Edwards, and members of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity. My name is Kelvin Akyeampong with the Small Property Owners Association. I'm here as a small property owner in Worcester County. I'm here to speak in strong suppport of House Bill 1883, the rent escrow bill.
As a landlord, I believe in safe, dignified housing and in treating tenants fairly. But I have also seen firsthand how our laws can be used unfairly against small housing providers.
In one of my recent cases, I faced a tenant who stopped paying rent for months, claiming issues that were either exagerated or already resolved. During that time, I still had to cover the mortgage, property taxes, repairs, utilities, and even the tenant's motel stay, all while having no rental income. The process dragged on for months before I could recover the unit, and by then, I had lost tens of thousands of dollars and opportunities to rent to others who truly needed housing.
This isn't just my story, it's a common experience for small landlords across Massachusetts. When rent is wittheld indefinately, we face financial strain that can lead to foreclosure and divestment in affordable housing.
House Bill 1883 restores fairness. It doesn't take away a tenant's right to witthold rent for serious issues, it simply requires that the rent be held in escrow while the case is decided. That protects both sides: tenants still have leverage, and landlords are protected from bad-faith nonpayment.
Rent escrow promotes responsibility, transparency, and accountability on both ends. It ensures that tenants who raise legitimate complaints are protected, while landlords who provide housing in good faith are not left powerless.
I urge you to support H.1883 and bring balance back to the landlord-tenant relationship in Massachusetts.
Thank you!
Kelvin Akyeampong
Letter to Elected Officials Supporting Rent Escrow House Bill 1883
Dear Rep. (insert name) and Sen. (insert name),
I am writing in support House Bill 1883, filed by Rep. Paul McMurtry, which would allow for the creation of Rent Escrow Accounts to be established when there is a dispute between a tenant and a rental property owner.
Establishing a common sense and good faith Rent Escrow provision in this bill would be a win-win for all parties. Tenants would still be able to withhold rents if there were serious code and safety violations. At the same time, rental property owners would be protected, knowing that when a dispute is resolved, they will not be left with thousands of dollars in unpaid rent.
Per previous testimony provided by SPOA in recent years, our dispute resolution system is broken. It is difficult being a small housing provider in Massachusetts. State eviction laws and the onerous process can take years to conclude and potentially end in financial ruin for even the best and most conscientious rental property owners. Why should default laws that adhere to every other legal contract not exist between landlords and tenants?
This rent escrow proposal would be an easy fix that will make it easier for small property owners to operate, as well as make a serious dent, estimated by as much as 50 percent, in the housing courts caseload.
We will only find the answers to this daunting housing crisis by working together. Please vote in favor of Rent Escrow via H. 1883!
Sincerely,
(Your name)
You may find your state representative and state senator using the link below.
by Kelvin Akyeampong
SPOA Warns Boston's Proposed Apartment Tax Increase Would Harm Renters and Housing Development
by Chris Lehman and Tony Lopes
The Small Property Owners Association (SPOA) has recently been made aware of a proposal circulating within the City of Boston to more than double the tax rate on large or ”luxury” apartment buildings. This extreme proposal would do significant harm to Boston renters and landlords, deter investment in much-needed new housing stock, and enable the City of Boston to continue its recent pattern of unchecked spending increases. SPOA therefore opposes this proposal and recommends that state legislators evaluating a home rule petition along these lines do the same.
Boston currently taxes all residential properties equally at a millage rate of $11.58 per $1000 of assessed value. This proposal would increase the millage rate for apartment buildings with 30+ units or those classified as “luxury” to $23.60–a 104% increase. For many residential buildings, property taxes are already the largest operating expense; more than doubling this expense would have a disastrous impact on property owners’ bottom lines. For some owners, this change would immediately put them out of compliance with debt covenants; others might be forced into foreclosure.
Renters would be harmed too. When property taxes increase, a significant portion of this increase is passed on to renters. A tax increase of this magnitude would be expected to produce a roughly 20% increase in rents for affected properties,1 causing displacement or financial hardship. Additionally, reduced operating cashflow for owners often results in the deferral of property maintenance or upgrades, worsening renters’ quality of life.
The argument included in this proposal that higher taxes don’t cause higher rents is laughable. This argument is contradicted by many credible research papers and basic common sense. The existence of relatively low rents in Austin, which has high property taxes, is explained by Austin’s permissive development environment, which has enabled a massive expansion of its housing supply, keeping rent growth in check. Boston, meanwhile, has a notoriously restrictive development environment, which has pushed rents higher and makes the comparison to Austin inappropriate. The lack of rigor demonstrated in this comparison made by the City is concerning; government officials seeking to dramatically increase their constituents’ taxes should at minimum strive to accurately represent the expected effects of their proposals.
Furthermore, because valuations for larger residential properties are assessed on the basis of income net of expenses, decreasing this income by increasing tax expenses would decrease assessed valuations. This would decrease the size of the city’s tax base, necessitating further rate hikes–including potentially on homeowners–to counteract this effect.
Boston is in the midst of a housing supply crunch–we desperately need to build new housing in order to improve the city’s affordability. Adding new costs for residential development, as this proposal would do, would only worsen this problem. This proposal is therefore in opposition to the stated goals of both city and state government to increase Greater Boston’s housing stock.
It is also our understanding that the City’s bid to increase taxes here is downstream of its inability to exercise spending restraint. Its budget for FY26 is $4.84B, a whopping 19% increase over FY23, representing an average annual increase of 6%–well in excess of inflation. It is unreasonable for the City to ask property owners to make significant economic sacrifices when it is not willing to impose a basic level of discipline on its own spending habits.
SPOA calls for all property owners, renters, and policymakers to oppose this shortsighted and harmful tax proposal. To improve its fiscal health, Boston’s government should instead focus on enabling more development to expand its tax base and exercising restraint over its spending.
by Chris Lehman and Tony Lopes
SPOA Releases Episode 20 of Housing Policy Series with "Tenant Identity Fraud"
by Amir Shahsavari
We are pleased to release Episode 20 of SPOA Housing Policy Series, which is called "Tenant Identity Fraud."
"We live in a time when if you make it easy for someone to steal from you, someone will." -- Frank Abagnale
This quote applies to the story of small property owner Tasso Athanasopoulos, from Lynn, Massachusetts, who was left vulnerable when the system failed to protect him. But theft is not always financial. In this case, Tasso was robbed of his dignity by the tenant who lived upstairs, while Tasso lived on the first floor, running his business as a dentist. Tasso kept the rent below market for years, while showing his tenant respect.
When Tasso received the news that his mother was diagnosed with dementia, and when he informed the tenant that he needed the apartment back so that he could move in both of his parents to take care of them, the tenant refused to leave, which forced Tasso to the eviction process.
During the eviction, it was discovered that the tenant committed identity fraud, using a series of false names. Although this act is illegal, calling for the immediate termination of any lease, the eviction process only dragged on even longer for a total of four years!
In the end, Tasso was denied the opportunity to be with his mother, and to take care of her, when she died. He also had to tolerate what had been a continued pattern of verbal abuse from his tenant, whose real name turned out to be Celeste Cohen, during and after his mother's death, far away from her son.
Along with Tasso, we will speak to his attorney, Jordana Greenman, and news reporter, Scott Van Voorhis, who edits the independent newspaper Contrarian Boston. Scott will join us later in the conversation with his own set of questions.
We will also hear why Tasso no longer wishes to be a rental housing provider and why he would rather keep his upstairs apartment empty than take the risk of renting to anyone ever again.
At a time when renters need more housing in Massachusetts, amid a housing shortage, what can be done to reverse this trend, so that all the kind and conscientious property owners don't get chased out of the business?
SPOA Vice President, Amir Shahsavari, moderates the discussion.
by Amir Shahsavari