Rent committee reviews survey, defers vacancy vote

Rent Study Committee · Meeting of August 18, 2026

EASTHAMPTON — Rent Study Committee reviewed 84 survey responses and debated vacancy rules without voting. The survey, open July 15 to Aug. 14, drew 39 tenants, 29 homeowners and 20 landlords, with some overlap; among respondents naming a cap, the median was about 5 percent. Members split on whether rents should reset to market between tenancies, with Kevin Perrier saying the committee was "charged with stopping some of the egregious rent hikes" on occupied units.

Members favored "may" over "shall" on creating an appeals board and kept the draft's condo conversion language. The committee approved its Aug. 4 minutes and plans to take up a draft motion Sept. 1, aiming for the City Council on Sept. 16.

In the full story:

• Minutes and public comment
• Survey results
• Cap number
• Vacancy decontrol
• Stormwater tangent
• Appeals board, condo conversion and just cause eviction
• Other items and next steps
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,577 words

Source: the Rent Study Committee meeting of August 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.