Change to Condo Conversion Law Doubles Number of Protected Rental Homes
The requirement to compensate tenants displaced by a condo conversion creates a softer landing for households facing the challenges of an unexpected move.
Massachusetts’ Newest Eviction Law Will Scare Away New Housing
Massachusetts’ housing shortage and soaring rents are being exacerbated by the commonwealth’s extreme eviction-sealing law, by scaring away new housing.
Campbell Crafting Rules for Assisted Living Evictions, Consumer Protections
More than 17,000 Bay Staters residing in assisted living facilities could benefit from stronger consumer protections that Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office is starting to pursue.
SJC Rules Against Tenant in Eviction Case
In a case involving the Massachusetts appeal bond statute in a summary process eviction case, the Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled against a family that had been occupying a foreclosed property for 11 years without making mortgage or rent payments.
Legislature Moves to Revive Eviction Protections, Despite Industry Protests
A pandemic-era program that paused roughly 10,000 eviction cases while tenants sought financial aid could return as a permanent tool if Gov. Maura Healey joins lawmakers in support.
Second Chances Riding on GBREB-Backed Eviction Sealing Bill
With a champion for eviction record sealing now chairing the Joint Committee on Housing, tenants rights advocates are feeling a renewed hope for passage of the “HOMES Act” this session.
An Eviction Protection Real Estate Should Support
Massachusetts has a chance to make its eviction system a little more humane. Unfortunately, some landlords don’t want that to happen. The legislature should still move forward with the idea.
Advocates Urge Revival of Eviction Prevention Law
The campaign so far appears to have had an impact in at least one legislative chamber. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz told the Boston Globe his panel’s budget due to be released this week will resurrect and make permanent Chapter 257 protections.
Advocates Appeal To Lift New Limit On Rental Aid
Housing advocates warned Tuesday that a Baker administration policy limiting rental aid eligibility has put help out of reach for tenants who are struggling to make ends meet, urging lawmakers to intervene and unwind the measure in the coming weeks.
The Pandemic Taught Us How to Enhance Housing Stability
As the economy rebounds and employment increases, many of our friends and neighbors remain homeless or at risk of losing their home. But we don’t have to accept this situation.
Rental Aid Changes Likely to Hurt the Needy, Landlords, Advocates Warn
Massachusetts renters who seek state aid to avoid eviction will face new requirements and a revised application process in less than a week, a sudden shift that prompted dozens of housing advocates to demand lawmakers intervene and stave off a “disgraceful and unnecessary outcome.”
Landlord, Constable Sue Boston Over Eviction Moratorium
A Mattapan landlord and a Boston city constable are suing the city and the head of its public health commission, a commission member and acting Mayor Kim Janey over the city’s latest eviction moratorium.
Eviction Aid Distribution Boosted, State Hopes for More Federal Money
The federal government is revving up to redistribute some unspent rental aid it steered to states during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Massachusetts hopes to be near the top of the list to receive an extra boost.
U.S. Supreme Court Puts Eviction Moratorium on Hold
The Court’s ruling does not prevent Congress from reimposing the moratorium. Nor does it prevent state and local governments from imposing their own eviction moratoria, as Acting Mayor Kim Janey recently announced in Boston.
Will Landlords Sue Over New Boston Eviction Moratorium?
Boston landlords are now banned from evicting their tenants under a public health order announced by acting Mayor Kim Janey Tuesday evening.
Court Ruling, Variant Alters Landscape on Evictions
A growing chorus of activists and lawmakers want to see action at the state and local level to stave off a potential surge of housing removals, warning that tenants are more “exposed” in the wake of a new U.S. Supreme Court decision lifting a federal eviction moratorium.
Supreme Court Kills Eviction Moratorium
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is allowing evictions to resume across the United States, blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Treasury Reforms Rules for Rental Aid in Face of Lagging Distribution
States and localities have only distributed 11 percent of the tens of billions of dollars in federal rental assistance, the Treasury Department said Wednesday, the latest sign the program is struggling to reach the millions of tenants at risk of eviction.
Sales of Two- and Three-Families Jump as Eviction Freeze Pressures Landlords
Sales of two- and three-family properties are up significantly across Massachusetts amid eviction moratoriums that some landlords say have driven them to get out of the business, or pull back their holdings.
Foreclosures and Evictions Aren’t Instantaneous
Not to downplay the pending foreclosures and evictions faced by millions of families, but the current national furor is a bit overblown.
