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Readers reveal their lowest Boston rents — including a $90 Beacon Hill studio
As Boston’s September 1 move-in day approaches, readers share memories of when rent in the city was much cheaper.
As thousands prepare for Boston’s annual September 1 move-in day – the unofficial turnover of the city’s leases, moving trucks, and a whole lot of street chaos – Boston.com readers took a moment to look back at simpler, cheaper times.
In response to a poll asking readers to share the cheapest rent they ever paid in the city, hundreds chimed in with nostalgic (and sometimes unbelievable) stories.
We heard from 230 Boston.com readers, who shared rents ranging from as low as $75 per month to rents over $2,300.
One reader recalled paying just $250 a month for a 1-bedroom in Brookline in the early 1980s. Another said they paid $412 to split a four-bedroom in South Boston from 2010 through 2013 that may or may not have been up to code – “and definitely not a registered apartment.” There were tales of rent-controlled units, basement bargains, and what one reader called “the landlord lottery,” or, a one-bedroom for under $1,000.
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Of course, many were quick to note that those days are long gone. With Boston rent prices among the highest in the country – and thousands of leases set to turn over on September 1 – these memories serve as a reminder of just how much the market has changed.
Below, readers share their cheapest rents and when they paid them.
Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.
What’s the lowest rent you’ve ever paid in Boston — and when was it?
$500 or less per month
$75 in 1978: “North End, five-story walk up, kinda two bedrooms. Then rent control in Cambridgeport for 2.5 bedrooms for $217 split between two people. I lived there for 8 years.” – Betsy M., Dorchester
$90 in 1990: “When I was in grad school in 1990, I lived in a basement studio on Beacon Hill for $90 per month. It was about half the size of a hotel room. It did include a ‘kitchen,’ a bathroom with shower, and a door out to a shared courtyard. It was fine for that phase of my life, but I could never live like that now.” – Jennifer, Peabody
$140 in 1970: “It had a bedroom, dining room, living room, small kitchenette, with a bath in Hyde Park. Heat was included. $140.00 a month. The house was a converted single-family, and they made most of the upstairs an apartment.” – Linda T., Marshfield
$170 in 1975: “I lived on the top floor of a brownstone in the Back Bay. It had a tiny kitchen, a living room, a small bedroom, and a small bathroom. No dining area; You ate sitting in the living room.” – Jim B., Ashburnham
$200 in 1999: “My first apartment was a small, 510 square foot one bedroom split that housed 3 people. This was back in 1999 on Burbank Street in Boston. The fridge barely opened all the way. The oven door, when opened, reached the other side of the wall. Suffice to say, the kitchen barely fit one person. The bathroom had a massive claw foot cast iron tub and it was big enough that we were able to fit a portable washing machine that would hose off in the sink. But the apartment electric was knob and tube, so we would get a shock every time we turned on the washer. The large-ish ‘living room’ had a door that makes it the ‘split’ bedroom. Closing the door meant closing the kitchen off to the rest of the place. The ‘real’ bedroom was decent and fit a full sized mattress. But the entire place essentially had no storage.” – Madeleine, Brookline
$280 in 1972: “In the South End, it was a two-bedroom apartment in a renovated brick bow front row house, one of six owned by the same landlord on Waltham Street. After a year or so, we moved upstairs to the top floor, which had a teardrop fireplace and a roof deck. The rent there was $325. Heat and water were included but we had to pay electricity… Eventually and gradually the rent went up, so that when I left to buy a house in 1983 and the building’s units were being marketed as condos by a new owner, it was $600 a month.” – Judith V., Brookline
$350 in the 1980s: “I lived in studios and one bedrooms in the Fenway until the rent went to $1000. It was cheaper to buy a 2 bedroom condo in 2004. Things are out of reach now for most Bostonians.” – Margaret C., Fenway
$450 in 1979: “$450 per month, split among three Boston University grad students, plus utilities in 1979. Three bedrooms, eat-in-kitchen, tile bath and right on the (noisy) Commonwealth Ave Green Line.” – M.B., Brighton
$500 from 1992 to 2008: “This was in an old triple-decker in the Beachmont area of Revere. The apartment building was in need of renovations until it was sold in 2008.” – Anonymous reader, Dorchester
$1,000 or less per month
$600 in 2010: “Brookline 2010. Granted, it was a house with 5 people in total, but still, I had a part-time retail job and could live here.” – Graham, Shirley
$650 in 2001: “It was not a great living situation but it was my first apartment and it allowed me to be within walking distance to my job, friends, and the Red Line and Central or Harvard Squares.” – Julia R., Wakefield
$670 in 1996: “I had a small one-bedroom apartment in the Fenway, no parking, no laundry but the bus stop and laundromat was right across the street. It was probably about 600 square feet and I loved it!” – Beth L., Raleigh, North Carolina
$700 in 1997: “We had the first floor of a lovely 2 bedroom/1 bath in Brighton. We had a lovely yard, but no washer/dryer, or parking. It was our first household, married in ’89, now paying $2,200 a month in Fall River. One request: take me back!” – Robert B., Fall River
$750 in 2007: “1 bedroom in a 3-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living room, and garden. 2007, Somerville… At university, I lived in a tiny place (14m2) and it was great as it was centrally located and cheap, so it gave me both extra time and money.” – Eve, Brookline
$800 in 1997: “The apartment was in JP and was a nice area to live in. It was near the T and had plenty of parks in the area. I feel like the city should have more micro-apartments to accommodate hard working people who don’t make a lot of money.” – Mark H., Dorchester
$1,000 or more per month
$1,200 in 2001: “It was the third floor of a Commonwealth Avenue townhouse between Berkeley and Clarendon back in 2001. The previous renter was a friend of mine who was leaving town, so I knew it was going to be available, and so I contacted the landlord. I still had to pay a broker a full months’ rent, even though all he did was hand me the keys.” – Anonymous reader, Back Bay
$1,395 in 2014: “It was a condo owned by a nice, out-of-state couple who’d originally bought it for their son. It was in an elevator building, with covered parking and storage units and had 1.5 bathrooms in a 780 sq. ft. 1BR unit. It was a bargain and I know I’ll never get a deal that good again in MA. Unfortunately the couple had to sell it during the pandemic and I had to move to Texas to care for my mother.” – Eugenia B., formerly of Arlington
$2,100 in 2007: “After graduating college in 2007, I rented the top of a triple decker in Southie. It had 3 giant bedrooms (we split rent three ways), an eat-in kitchen, one full bath, two living rooms, and an extra, smaller room that one of my roommates used as an art studio. We had a huge deck and were one block up from Pleasure Bay.” – Jenny, South Boston
$2,375 in 2022: “It was 1,100 square feet, I found the landlord on Craiglist and it was in East Boston. It was poorly set up and had a few different issues – including mice. But we got cats and made due. The landlord then renovated the building, and rent went up to [$3,300], but at least they fixed the awful setup and they got central air.” – Gabrielle A., East Boston
Some responses have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.
Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.
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