Tenant advocates urge rent protections, tenant purchase tools as investor buying and rent hikes accelerate

Tenant advocates and legal services groups told the Joint Committee on Housing that corporate investors and steep market rent increases are driving displacement across Massachusetts and pressed for policy tools to preserve housing for low‑ and moderate‑income residents.

Carolyn Chu, executive director of Homes for All Massachusetts, described repeated examples where new owners raised rents sharply or served eviction notices after an ownership change and said the pattern is widespread. “You shouldn’t be able to buy a building and then just run people over like you’re driving a tractor, not worrying about who is getting crushed under the wheels,” she said in testimony including examples from Lynn and East Hampton.

Advocates said the state needs both short‑term protections to keep people housed now and long‑term preservation. They…