When Urban Edge brought residents and partners together in 2023, we set out to identify the most pressing issues facing the neighborhood. Through a series of community meetings and surveys, residents named excessive rent costs as a major barrier to stability and social mobility. Out of that process, a coalition of key partners was launched – the Roxbury Collective for Housing Affordability.
Since then, the Collective has engaged hundreds of residents in conversations about rent stabilization, housing justice, and community organizing. Now, the Collective is moving into its next phase – working with the Homes for All Massachusetts campaign to collect 75,000 signatures for a statewide ballot initiative. If successful, the measure would cap annual rent increases at 5%, protect small landlords, and help keep families in their homes.
Under current state law, there is no limit to the amount landlords can increase rents each year. Rent can double overnight. The sky high cost of living displace workers and seniors from their communities, force people to work multiple jobs just to pay the rent, force seniors to put off retirement, and make it impossible for young people and families to save money for the dream of buying a home.
The proposed policy takes a balanced approach: it limits rent increases to the cost of living (capped at 5%) while protecting small, owner-occupied landlords and encouraging new housing by exempting buildings less than 10 years old. The goal is simple: stabilize families, preserve community roots, and ensure responsible development.
The outreach being conducted by the Roxbury Collective includes canvassing dozens of grassroots housing justice groups, labor unions, and community and faith-based organizations representing thousands of Massachusetts residents.
Collective leader Judith Lamb shared, “I got involved with The Roxbury Collective because I care deeply about the community I grew up in. I’ve seen firsthand how rising rents, gentrification, and displacement have affected long-time residents – families, elders, and young people who’ve called this neighborhood home for generations. I wanted to be part of something that gives us a voice and pushes for real change. This work is important because it’s about more than housing – it’s about justice, dignity, and the right to stay in the place we love. If we don’t speak up and organize, decisions will be made without us. But when we come together, we can protect our homes, shape our future, and keep Roxbury rooted in the people who built it.”
The Collective includes community organizations such as Reclaim Roxbury, Madison Park Development Corporation, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Nuestra Comunidad, Union Capital, The Dimock Center, and others, with statewide support from Homes for All Massachusetts.
“Every day we see how rising housing costs threaten the stability and future of families in our community,” said Emilio Dorcely, CEO of Urban Edge. “We are proud to support our partners in the Roxbury Collective to advance legislation that secures stability for families and empowers cities and towns to address the housing crisis.”
“The vast majority of people we speak to in the community tell us they support strong rent stabilization because they’ve felt the squeeze of rising rents or seen loved ones forced to leave. This is about giving young people the chance to save, build a future, and start families, not lining the pockets of corporate real estate,” said Reclaim Roxbury Organizing Director Cole Gibson.
As the campaign gains momentum, Urban Edge remains proud to support this growing coalition of residents and partners dedicated to keeping housing affordable and communities strong.
For more about the work of the Roxbury Collective, have a listen to this recent podcast:
