What You Need to Know About Massachusetts’ Broker-Fee Ban
Landlords will have options to offset the cost, but compliance will be crucial as failure to follow the rules could be costly, experts say.
Landlords and Development Caught in Section 8 Crossfire
Potential cuts to federal Section 8 vouchers could put landlords in an uncomfortable position and hurt housing production.
Industry Attacks Tenant Right-to-Purchase Language in Housing Bill
House of Representatives leaders didn’t just add several billion dollars of additional housing funding to Gov. Maura Healey’s big bonding-and-policy bill earlier this month. They also added a measure anathema to real estate trade groups.
Letter to the Editor: Eviction Sealing Bill Hurts Good Renters
It would cause landlords statewide to raise application minimums for income, credit and other screening metrics. It would ignore the clear alternative to the problem of discrimination based on past evictions.
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.
Boston Sued Over Rent Control Advisors’ Emails
Landlord trade group MassLandlords has filed suit against the city of Boston for allegedly hiding emails between city officials and members of Mayor Michelle Wu’s Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee.
Letter to the Editor: Deleading Rentals Will Take 150 Years. Help Us Change That
MassLandlords is calling all legislators to co-sponsor SD.862 and HD.2630, each “An Act to Further Lead Remediation in Rental Housing by Increasing The Deleading Credit.” These bills are drawing a diverse, statewide, cross-aisle coalition of co-sponsors.
Rent Stabilization Is a False Hope
Applicants of color cannot compete in a market made even more restrictive by rent control. Let us create more rental housing to solve both high rents and housing inequality.
‘Vulture Season’ in Massachusetts Is Closed for Now
Landlords and developers got two wins in the last 30 days in the fight to stop tenant “right of first refusal” or “TOPA” laws: one on Beacon Hill and the other in a Middlesex County Courtroom.
Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Poised to Help Owners Large and Small
Federal authorities’ nearly-successful attempts to wrest a Tewksbury motel from its owner shows that the real estate industry should get behind a reform proposal on Beacon Hill.
Landlords Seen as Key to Credit-Building
An ambitious effort by one of the biggest players in the mortgage market, Freddie Mac, to open up renters’ access to credit is relying on landlords to help. But few landlords and property managers know the effort exists.
Landlord Group Sues State for Eviction Data
A prominent group representing small landlords has sued state officials for access to data on the state’s pandemic rental aid program it says could show discrimination against renters of color and their landlords.
Why MassLandlords Has Sued DHCD Over Rental Assistance Records
We are asking the court to order DHCD release records on rental assistance applications, so we can see whether problems in the application process discriminated against renters of color and their landlords.
Heat Pump Water Heaters Have Not Frozen My Basement
As part of the ongoing saga to retrofit my Worcester three-decker to be zero-emission, I recently replaced two gas water heaters with heat pump water heaters. If you haven’t heard of these, grab your loofah, you’re in for some fun.
Tenant Right of First Refusal to Be Heard on Beacon Hill
Although benign-sounding, the two bills would literally destroy rental housing through their provisions for “small amounts of demolition,” among other draconian measures.
Boston’s Eviction Moratorium is Broken Beyond Repair
I understand why elected officials steer toward to the siren song of eviction moratoria. But they don’t provide long-term protection, don’t sustain our limited rental housing supply and are not legal.
The Summer Lease-Up Frenzy Victimizes Many
Before the pandemic, we had a housing crisis. After the pandemic’s first three waves, it seems things are still bad. And any landlord or property manager trying to lease up an apartment right now is watching that first-hand.
Does Someone Need to Sue for Rental Assistance?
Massachusetts has set aside roughly $1 billion for pandemic rental assistance. But roughly half of applicants aren’t able to finish their 13-page applications. The net result is a loss of affordable housing run by small landlording businesses, plus despair in many Massachusetts homes.
Landlords, Advocates At Odds Over Lead Law Updates
Fair housing advocates are pushing substantial changes to the state’s Lead Law which, they say, has failed to keep children safe from poisoning and created “rampant” discrimination against renters with young children.
Landlord Certification Test Ready
A landlord who takes and passes our test will contribute to renter wellbeing, be responsible when no one is looking and avoid problems – and receive recognition for their hard work, thanks to a nationwide first achieved by MassLandlords.
