You’ve probably heard that Massachusetts has a housing problem. It costs a lot of money to keep a roof over your head, and renters across Western Massachusetts say they’re getting squeezed too tight.
In Easthampton, tenants at the Pleasant View Apartments have held rallies against the building’s new owners — a real estate investment firm from Connecticut, that since buying the property last November have increased some rents by as much as thirty five per-cent. Tenant Kate Zenetta lives there with her daughter… she’s frustrated with how quickly the rent hike came, and the lack of communication from the new landlords.
“Nobody should be in the situation where their housing — literally a necessity — should be able to be pulled out from under them at a moment’s notice,” she said…