Medford Tenants To Rally For Rent Control, Housing Stability

MEDFORD, MA — On Saturday, Oct. 22, the Bradlee Road Tenant Association, City Life Vida Urbana (CLVU), Our Revolution Medford, and other community members will rally outside the 34-unit building at 22-26 Bradlee Road at 12 p.m., demanding negotiations with the landlord, Savage Properties.

Earlier this year, Savage handed out notices to quit to all tenants-at-will and the tenants with leases in the building received 20-25 percent or more rent increases, organizers said. The majority of the Bradlee Road community was forced to relocate and any have been pushed farther from the city, forcing them to pay higher rents for smaller apartments.

The remaining tenants are demanding negotiations with Savage and standing up for those battling displacement and rent increases. Bradlee Road Tenant Association also has a petition with over 450+ signatures to demand Savage Properties negotiate with the former and remaining tenants.

"The no-fault evictions at Bradlee Rd and the $900 rent increases in Malden show why we urgently need large-scale solutions like lifting the statewide ban on rent control to stop the mass displacement from happening in communities across the Greater Boston area and across the state,” Katie McCann, Medford/Malden Organizer at CLVU, said in a statement.

Due to the increasingly common rent hikes, clearing of buildings, and mass evictions in Greater Boston and across the state, advocates are demanding to lift the ban on rent control to stabilize rents with the Tenant Protection Act.