CTOC Sues Rent Board Five, Challenges Pending Rent Hike

The Cambridge Tenants Organizing Committee (CTOC) is filing suit today in federal court against the five members of the Cambridge Rent Control Board, challenging the across-the-board rent increase scheduled to take effect May 1.

"We've been campaigning to get tenants to refuse to pay the rent increases." Nancy Hall-Clapman, CTOC spokesperson said yesterday.

"By itself, the suit is not enough," she said. "It's meaningless unless people withhold rent."

The suit is being filed on behalf of all tenants in the 22,000 Cambridge rent-controlled apartments, she said.

"It challenges how the decision was made, by whom it was made, and whether it was legal," Hall-Clapman said.

"The suit is also intended to protect all tenants refusing to pay the rent increase," she said.

CTOC has been organizing tenants against the 10 to 20 per cent increase since it was voted by the board December 30, she said. Notifications of the hike were mailed to tenants last month, she said, delaying the planned implementation of the increase for two months.

Sunday Rally

CTOC is also planning a rally in Rindge Auditorium. Sunday afternoon to "maximize the organized resistance to the rent increase," a CTOC announcement said.

One of CTOC's charges is that the rent control board is violating the Massachusetts Conflict of Interest Law and the United States Constitution because two of its members are landlords, Hall-Clapman said.

Fred Cohn, a landlord, and member of the rent board said. "The rent board has acted legally throughout. No doubt, that will be the concern of the judge."

Cohn said the conflict of interest charge was "amusing" because there are two tenant members of the rent board.

"Any tenant voting in a decision would have as much conflict of interest as a landlord," Cohn said.

When questioned on the possibility of a large number of evictions resulting from a rent strike, Paul Watkins, a member of the rent board, said. "Under rent control, a tenant can withhold rent if he has a good reason and notifies the landlord."