WITH THE STATE’S eviction moratorium set to expire at the end of the week, the Baker administration on Monday unveiled a $171 million initiative that includes new aid for landlords […]
Housing
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Judges urged to delay eviction hearings until Jan. 1
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS JUDICIARY should intervene to prevent a potential surge of tens of thousands of housing removals that could hit when the state’s temporary ban on […]
Posted inOpinion
Lynn’s public land should benefit the public
IF THERE IS ONE Â key lesson to learn from these past months under COVID shutdown, it is that all of the social inequalities in our society are linked together, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Eviction protection bill clears Housing Committee
A BILL THAT WOULD BAN most evictions and foreclosures for up to a year after Gov. Charlie Baker ends the coronavirus state of emergency cleared a key legislative hurdle on Thursday.   The […]
Posted inUncategorized
Court rules unauthorized tenant can be evicted
AN UNDOCUMENTED woman who was subleasing an apartment in Revere was evicted this week, illustrating one of the many gray areas in the state’s ban on evictions and foreclosures. Rosa, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Blacks, Latinos migrating from Boston to Gateway Cities
BLACKS AND LATINOS in search of lower-cost housing are migrating from Boston to the state’s 26 Gateway Cities, according to mortgage origination data analyzed by MassINC researchers. In 2007, according […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s do away with real estate broker fees
FOR DECADES, the laws of supply and demand have weighed heavily toward landlords and the 3,000-plus real estate agents scattered across brokerage offices in Allston, Brighton, and Brookline. Historical market […]
Posted inUncategorized
Federal judge refuses to lift eviction ban
US DISTRICT COURT Judge Mark Wolf on Thursday refused to order an end to the state’s temporary ban on most evictions and foreclosures, but he indicated the pandemic is not […]
Posted inOpinion
Tenants facing eviction need legal representation
THE ECONOMIC IMPACT of the coronavirus has hurt a lot of people, but few have been hit harder than low-income renters and communities of color. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council […]
Posted inOpinion
CDC eviction moratorium raises constitutional questions
WHILE WE HAVE BEEN in federal court arguing the constitutionality of the Massachusetts eviction moratorium, the Trump administration’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just issued an emergency order imposing a nationwide residential […]
Posted inUncategorized
It’s a renter’s market in Boston
“IT’S A RENTER’S MARKET” hasn’t been uttered in the Greater Boston area for over a decade, but now it’s being heard over and over again as landlords cut their prices […]
Posted inUncategorized
One in three renters at risk for eviction, advocates say
A NEW EVICTIONS ANALYSIS using polling and research data from the US Census Bureau’s most recent housing survey indicates one in three Massachusetts renter households are at risk of eviction. […]
Posted inOpinion
Preventing evictions, promoting housing stability
THE PANDEMIC will have a lasting effect on our society that we can only begin to imagine. With over 150,000 Americans dead and counting, the psychological toll will be felt […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting rid of fossil fuels in buildings
ATTORNEY GENERAL Maura Healey recently ruled that Brookline’s clean energy bylaw prohibiting installation of oil and gas lines in new and substantially renovated buildings violates state law. It’s true—state preemption […]
Posted inUncategorized
Landlords challenge constitutionality of eviction ban
TWO LANDLORDSÂ from Randolph and Worcester are challenging the constitutionality of the ongoing eviction moratorium, arguing the state is allowing their tenants to basically take property without paying for it. The […]
Posted inThe Download
Landlords challenge constitutionality of eviction ban
Two landlords from Randolph and Worcester are challenging the constitutionality of the ongoing eviction moratorium, arguing the state is allowing their tenants to basically take property without paying for it. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker’s Housing Choice bill short on choice
LET’S START with something everyone agrees on: Massachusetts is in a housing crisis. Now for something that’s up for debate: the solution is to build more market-rate housing across the […]
Posted inPolitics
Equity concerns imperil Baker housing bill
THE RACIAL RECKONING that is overtaking Massachusetts may have one surprising casualty: Gov. Charlie Baker’s housing bill. After two and a half years, Baker’s “Housing Choices” bill is emerging for […]
Posted inOpinion, Race/Racism
Zoning is major artery of systemic racism
LAST WEEK, US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced the administration would be ending Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH) regulations, referring to them as “a waste of […]
Posted inOpinion
A chance to address racial inequity at its roots
RACIAL INEQUITY in Massachusetts is largely attributable to discriminatory housing policies. High levels of segregation keep people of color from experiencing equal access to employment and educational opportunities, clean air […]
Posted inOpinion
The eye of a housing hurricane
WITH COVID-19 DEATHS and infections remaining low here, enhanced federal unemployment benefits continuing through July, and the state’s emergency freeze on evictions still in effect, it’s possible to believe that […]
Posted inUncategorized
What about the back rent?   
THE EXTENSION THIS week by Gov. Charlie Baker of a statewide eviction moratorium to mid-October provides two more months of breathing room for tenants. The eviction freeze, put in place in April […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker extends eviction and foreclosure moratorium
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is extending the statewide eviction and foreclosure moratorium by 60 days until October 17. The moratorium, put in place on April 20, was set to expire on […]
Posted inEconomy
Tenant purchase legislation could stave off displacement
FOR THE TIME BEING, the COVID-19 epidemic in Massachusetts has begun to wind down. However, even if we keep the virus under control, it has already has set in motion […]