For the past few months, a small city in western Massachusetts has been the scene of multiple protests as local tenants and advocates call out rising rents. Organizers say rent increases at some properties, especially those owned by out-of-state companies, are getting out of hand, sparking calls for action.
There’s a pleasant view at Pleasant View Apartments in Easthampton – a 33-unit apartment complex that features Mount Tom in the background as well as Nashawannuck Pond nearby.
Last fall, the property traded hands for about $4 million, sold to a New York City-based investment firm, Rowin Capital.
After that, it wasn’t long before tenants say correspondence from a new property management firm arrived – paperwork from “A Better Way,” taped to their doors, detailing new, steep rent increases, saddled with new leases and only a short window to accept, says tenant Nancy Dorian.
“I know of three octogenarians in this complex, right now, that have been coerced to sign leases at $1,550 - that's a jump from $1,150 or, in some cases, even $1,050 - not okay,” she said.
Dorian’s testimony and that of other tenants could be heard across the parking lot Saturday, Aug. 23, as renters and members of the housing advocacy group Springfield No One Leaves gathered to protest the hikes.
“We’re here with the Pleasant View Tenant Association to let the Scherban brothers know that these folks will not be moved, they are not agreeing to this egregious rent hike…” said No One Leaves Organizing Director Katie Talbot, singling out Rowin heads, Daniel and Joseph Scherban.
Months after the initial taped-to-door correspondence, Rowin reached out to tenants, saying they would drop $100 for anyone who signed on for the $1,550 rate. The firm noted “the way the increase was communicated was regrettable” and “not reflective of our business practices.”
For context, the fall letter from Better Way said anyone who balked at signing a new lease would receive a “30 day notice to quit with an invite to new tenancy at a new monthly rent amount of $1,750.”
However, with listings for units going for over $2,000, residents remain frustrated. As they did Saturday, renters are calling for further rollbacks to what amounts to an almost 40 percent increase for some.
“Right now, on Zillow, it's $2,295 for a two-bedroom [unit] in the same place that only seven months ago, was $1,150. That is total greed/money in their pocket, and it is not okay,” Dorian continued. “The public needs to know this is happening - this is happening all over the place. We don't want this in Easthampton.”
Kate Zanetta is a teacher who works in Amherst. She lives in a two-bedroom unit with her 9-year-old daughter – a unit she let reporters tour.
As she helps run what’s become the Pleasant View Tenant Association, she says there are few, affordable options in the area, and seeing her rent rise to $1,450 has been crushing.
“Honestly, when you think about what it does to the housing market, as a whole in the area… if they can get those rents, then other landlords will be positioned to do the same,” Zanetta said of the hikes and over $2,000 listings.
In a statement, Rowin Capital tells WAMC the company has “endeavored to keep rents affordable.” An official noted the $1,450 rent for long-term tenants in a two-bedroom unit is also “well below current market rates and far below HUD Fair Market Rent.”
According to HUD, $2,004 is considered Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit in the "Amherst Town-Northampton, MA MSA" for FY26. FY25's rate was $1,496.
The statement adds that since acquiring the property, “ownership has invested significant capital” into it, including various renovations, new walkways and paintwork. The company also claims there is a waitlist for units that fetch new a lease rate of $2,100.
Rowin is not the only out-of-state company with protesting tenants. Earlier in the year, tenants at 17 Adams Street began speaking out over rent increases of 30 to 50 percent, according to The Daily Hampshire Gazette – rising from $1,415 to $1,850 in at least one case.
The building was purchased in April by Hurricane Properties of South Carolina, which has attributed the rise to inflation and other factors (Rowin Capital also cited inflation in its statement to WAMC).
In the Adams Street situation, Talbot says amid protests from tenants, Hurricane appeared to be “coming to the negotiating table.”
“For so long, the narrative has been that landlords have all the power, but actually, in the state of Massachusetts, tenants can negotiate rent - they don't have to automatically sign it and lay down,” she explained, noting the rally is part of a broader awareness effort her group’s been taking on. “[We’re] getting really clear and really organized and on the same page: of tenants being a class of people, right? Not just working class, but a tenant class that is also a voting block…?
Saturday wasn’t the group’s first rally in Easthampton, and from what Talbot can tell, it likely won’t be the last. Organizers have been getting the issue in front of the city council, which has gone as far as to back state legislation calling for rent stabilization.
Talbot adds that her group, which recently took a trip to Beacon Hill to back such legislation, is keen on gathering support for a possible rent control ballot question, giving voters a chance to undo a 1994 ballot measure that effectively banned it.
“We have been working to pass rent control through the legislature for many years and it is not moving in the way that our people need it,” Talbot explained. “People are being displaced, our communities are changing rapidly and so, we're taking it to the voters of Massachusetts with a ballot initiative that'll go on the ballot in 2026 after we collect our you know, 75,000 signatures in the next few months.”
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Rowin Capital’s full statement to WAMC can be found here:
With inflation increasing costs for everyone, properties have become increasingly expensive to maintain. We have endeavored to keep rents affordable. At our current effective rent of $1,450 per month for a 2-bedroom, our long-term tenants enjoy some of the most affordable rents in the area—well below current market rates and far below HUD Fair Market Rent, despite this being a desirable market-rate property. New lease rates at Pleasantview are currently $2,100, and there is a waiting list.
Further, since acquiring the property, ownership has invested significant capital into the property, including tens of thousands of dollars on exterior paint, new walkways, landscaping, and additional renovations.
Pleasantview is well-maintained and professionally managed. Many tenants are quite happy. Management has generously offered any unhappy tenant that they may break their lease at any time and leave to another apartment complex they like better. So far, no one has taken up the offer (which still stands) which speaks to the complex's desirability and affordability.
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This piece originally aired Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025
