Housing Headlines

The Boston Housing Authority has announced it is extending its moratorium on nonessential evictions until the end of the year. The BHA is the second large housing entity to make such an announcement. Earlier in the week, Winn Companies, which owns 6,500 apartments at 51 buildings across the state - said it will halt evictions through the end of the year. Still on the books is a statewide moratorium, which is slated to expire on Aug. 18.

BOSTON --- The Baker-Polito Administration is expanding eligibility for emergency rental and mortgage assistance with a new program called ERMA. Short for Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance program, the $20 million ERMA program is similar to the state's Residential Assistance for Families in Transition program in that it will provide up to $4,000 for eligible households to pay rent or mortgage payments. The difference is households within 50-80% of area median income (AMI) are eligible whereas RAFT is for households up to 50% AMI.

BOSTON --- A 2019 study found that Boston is the third-most gentrified city in the nation. Using data from 2013-2017, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition report also found that Roxbury is particularly vulnerable to displacement as 81 percent of its residents are renters. The study also noted that the South End, Jamaica Plain and Dorchester have seen large declines in people of color, which is likely due to an influx of young white professionals moving in, the study said.

Residents of Chinatown and many in the architectural and planning community are mourning the death of Tunney Lee, the well-known MIT professor who helped found the Asian Community Development Corporation. The former head of the urban studies and planning department at MIT, he was a mentor to many in the affordable housing field and was a avid historian who fought for decades to preserve the heritage of Chinatown, his childhood neighborhood.

In a wide-ranging public radio interview, Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority Executive Director Brad Gilbert estimated that the almost-simultaneous scheduled end of emergency federal unemployment benefits and the state's eviction moratorium could trigger a "tsunami" of evictions and foreclosures and that upwards of 2,000 households in the county could need some sort of financial assistance. Gilbert added the potential for homelessness could increase overcrowding and exacerbate the COVID-19 health emergency.

On June 26, 2020, one of MHP's lending partners - the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. - issued a statement in response to violence against Black and Brown Americans. Based on a discussion with its staff and board, MHIC identified several recurring themes and promised to work with its staff and lending partners to find solutions to issues that disproportionately impact people of color. " We are in this for the 'long game' and we need to push for changes that may not have been possible in the past," the statement said.