Efforts to slow rent increases in Somerville took a step forward last week after the City Council unanimously backed sending a proposed rent stabilization home rule petition to the state Legislature.The measure, if eventually approved by lawmakers, would allow the city to impose a yearly cap on rent increases limited to the rate of inflation, plus 2 percent, to no more than 5 percent per year, according to the office of Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. The proposal would also increase protections for tenants to reduce or prevent “avoidable or unjustified evictions,” according to her office.Following the City Council’s vote last Thursday, the petition now heads to Beacon Hill. Once there, the proposal will need to be placed on a committee agenda before eventually working its way to the full Legislature for approval.
