You have no recourse at all. My landlord jacked my rent up by 25% after we had made a verbal agreement on an increase of @ 5%. She is elderly and claimed she didn't remember that agreement.

there's a limit, but the question is will he get away with it? depends on how you take it, lying down or standing and fighting. what do you have to lose at this point? go for it. kick some a-hole butt!

we had made a verbal agreement

Yeah, verbal agreements with landlords are worth the paper they're written on.

How do you propose to fight it?

That is a terrible argument. In the American democratic process the laws of higher political entity trump the laws of the smaller one. It was by-the-book democratic process. Abolishing rent control is the main reason why places like Cambridge are flourishing today.

the voters of this Commonwealth abolished rent control statewide by referendum in 1994.

There was an initiative law proposed to outlaw rent control. Since the municipalities are creations of the state government, the state legislative power can do that. Since I didn't live in one of those three cities, I voted against the initiative, figuring it was none of my business.

Later, I found out what the argument was: The three cities were by rent control artificially depressing the value of rental properties, and thus the amount of property taxes that they were collecting. Based on the formula that the state uses for distributing local aid money, that increased the amount that the three cities received in local aid. The local aid money comes from the state income tax, and generally speaking, derives from higher-income cities in the metro area. So the argument was that Cambridge, Brookline, and Boston were leeching off the rest of the state to provide a benefit to their residents. You can buy that or not as you choose, but the initiative passed.

If you want to be strictly libertarian, rent control isn't an abuse of anyone who buys a property after rent control is established -- it's just like buying a property subject to a homeowners' association agreement or a complicated lien, the buyer knew damned well what he was getting into, and you can be sure that the price he paid was marked down to compensate for the decreased rent that could be obtained. The people who were wronged were those who owned property at the time rent control was imposed. Indeed, if you bought a property after rent control was established and held it through the reppeal, you got a government-imposed windfall, as your property's value increases due to government action -- and that benefit is as unfair as the loss imposed on landlords when rent control was imposed.

Cambridge has done exceptionally better since the early 90s and I think getting rid of rent control played a small part. The quality and supply of housing available in the area has improved tremendously. Rent control dampens new development and promotes suburban sprawl.

There are always less desirable and more desirable areas. I live in Somerville not because I want to, but because I can't afford to live in a loft in the South End. If a person that can't afford Cambridge or Somerville, then they should move to Everett or Chelsea - just like I moved to Somerville for the same reason. Artists, academics are are not better class of people then 9-5 average Joes and should not deserve a special treatment.

And the actual value going up means the assessed value is going up. Your landlord might owe more in taxes next year than this year, and might be passing that cost on to the tenants.

I don't agree with the use of the words fair and unfair here, and that is part of the whole thing with government interference in markets. Another example is mortgage interest deduction. Objectively speaking, it is a failure, Like all subsidies, it increases demand and all increases in demand (absent supply increases to absorb them) increase prices. So it failed. Plus not sure if it is a good idea to favor homeownership, economy may be better served by a more mobile population and maybe a fairness issue. But now that we have it, I'd really be hurt if it was taken away, since value of my house would go down. Would that be fair or unfair to me, it is a matter of debate.

I am one of those "other types" and as I posted here last year, I had to look for a new apartment after 13 years. After hard work and a miracle and four months of looking, I found a place which raised my rent by only $250. For the first time in quite a few years, most of one of my two monthly paychecks is spent on rent. And now, only a year later, the apartments I was looking at have gone up $500 from my previous rent at a minimum.

This is at least a citywide crisis, and from what I see on Craigslist, a Greater Boston area situation. I work at a local university and I have no car. If I'm forced to move to Everett or even Malden at some point my commute to work will be very difficult. I have lived in Somerville for the last 23 years and I have never seen rents at this inflated level. I have heard about some of the Spring Hill apt. buildings where new owners are planning to charge nearly $1600 for lightly renovated studios!

From what I read locally, it's clear that the market is inflated, partly because of the impending Green Line extension, but this is leading to not only inflated rents, but also inflated property taxes. Everyone is affected, landlords and tenants alike. As pixelsand says, the only people who can find apartments are those who either make a ton of money or who qualify for "affordable", subsidized housing. Everyone in the very large middle, no matter what they do for work, is in deep trouble.

I think what we need is more housing period. When I look at the Somerville Scout, I see lots of articles and pictures having to do with the boom in Somerville, attracting young, vibrant tech companies with young, vibrant workers who can afford to spend lots of money. And that IS a great thing for our city, but I agree with pixelsand that Somerville is and has always been a dynamic, DIVERSE community, and people of all ages, backgrounds and wealth levels share our densely populated space. That is what makes our community so creative and exciting and it would be a shame to lose what is essentially our "middle class", the backbone of people who spend money and make art and contribute to what makes our town different.

The voters. And yes even it had passed it wasn't expected to go anywhere due.