by iwd Tina | Sep 10, 2021 | Housing News
Hearing on Public Housing – Wednesday, September 15, 11:00 a.m.
The Joint Committee on Housing will host a hearing on public housing related bills on Wednesday, September 15, 11:00 a.m.
This hearing includes CHAPA legislative priority, H.1417, An Act restoring the Commonwealth’s public housing. This bill will leverage new resources and reduce redevelopment costs for local housing authorities so that everyone living in public housing can have a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.
You can help advance this bill to protect public housing by taking action today! You can submit written testimony to the Housing Committee, testify virtually at the hearing, and sign your organization on in support of H.1417!
Submit Support Letter
You can submit a letter as written testimony in support of H.1417 to the Housing Committee. You can email the testimony directly to taylor.trenchard@mahouse.gov.
Testify Virtually
You can testify at the hearing virtually! Signing up to testify virtually will be available until Monday, September 13 at 12:00 p.m. To sign up to testify you need to first create an account for MyLegislature and follow these instructions.To sign up to give testimony, click here.
Fact Sheets & Sample Testimony
Sign Your Organization Up to Protect Public Housing & Support H.1417
Complete this form to add your organization to the growing list of supporters!
Legislative Co-Sponsors
As of September 10, 2021, the following legislators have signed on as co-sponsor of H.1417:
Representatives
- Kevin Honan, Bill Sponsor
- Peter Capano
- Nika Elugardo
- Dylan Fernandes
- Natalie Higgins
- Michael Kushmerek
- Jack Lewis
- Joseph McGonagle
- Cristina Minicucci
- Steven Owens
- Dave Rogers
- Lindsay Sabadosa
- Jon Santiago
- Danillo Sena
- Paul Tucker
- Andy Vargas
- Tommy Vitolo
Senators
- Jamie Eldridge
- Jason Lewis
Endorsing Organizations
- Arlington Housing Authority
- Boston Housing Authority
- Commonwealth Community Developers, LLC
- Swampscott Housing Authority
Questions?
Please contact Eric Shupin, CHAPA’s Director of Public Policy, with any questions at eshupin@chapa.org.
by iwd Tina | Sep 1, 2021 | Housing News
On September 1, the White House announced policies to increase the supply of affordable housing.
According to the plan, the Biden Administration has set a goal of creating, preserving, and selling to homeowners and non-profits nearly 100,000 additional affordable homes for homeowners and renters over the next three years. Specifically, President Biden directed federal agencies to:
- Boost the supply of quality, affordable rental units by relaunching the partnership between the Department of Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Risk Sharing Program in order to enable eligible state housing finance agencies (HFAs) to provide low-cost capital for affordable housing development; raising Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) equity cap for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the largest federal program for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing; and making more funding available to Community Development Finance Institutions and non-profit housing groups for affordable housing production under the Capital Magnet Fund.
- Boost the supply of manufactured housing and 2-4 unit properties by expanding financing through Freddie Mac. Along with Fannie Mae’s and the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) existing policies, these steps will enable more Americans to purchase homes, and increase the availability of rental units throughout the country.
- Make more single-family homes available to individuals, families, and non-profit organizations – rather than large investors – by prioritizing homeownership and limiting the sale to large investors of certain FHA-insured and HUD-owned properties, in addition to expanding and creating exclusivity periods in which only governmental entities, owner occupants, and qualified non-profit organizations are able to bid on certain FHA-insured and government-owned properties.
- Work with state and local governments to boost housing supply by leveraging existing federal funds to spur local action, exploring federal levers to help states and local governments reduce exclusionary zoning, and launching learning and listening sessions with local leaders.
by iwd Tina | Aug 31, 2021 | Housing News
The CDC Federal Eviction Moratorium ended on Thursday, August 26, 2021. However, the end of the moratorium does not mean you will be immediately evicted if you are behind on rent. Only a court can order someone to leave their home.
In Massachusetts, if you have a pending application for emergency rental assistance, your eviction case can be paused. If you or someone you know is having trouble paying rent, financial assistance is available. Apply for rental assistance today.
For legal help, visit the COVID Eviction Legal Help Project.
For information on community mediation, visit www.resolutionma.org.
You can also call 2-1-1 for referrals available in multiple languages.
CHAPA is disappointed by the Supreme Court decision to end the federal eviction moratorium. The federal moratorium kept tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents — seniors, families with children, and others — stably housed and more protected against COVID-19.
Without this moratorium, too many will risk losing their homes, especially in communities of color, as virus transmission rates rise and the Delta variant threatens the health and safety of every community. More evictions will increase the spread of the virus, burden our health care systems, and put children at risk as they prepare to go back to school.
With almost $525 million in emergency rental assistance still available, we must ensure every household has access to the resources they need to avoid eviction and stay in their homes. Renters should apply for all available assistance as quickly as possible. Landlords and property owners should work proactively with residents to help them access these resources. Additionally, we need to continue to support agencies administering emergency rental assistance and continue to improve the outreach, application, and distribution processes to ensure every resident who needs help receives assistance.
The trauma of an eviction lasts well beyond the pandemic, driving too many deeper into poverty, making it harder to find a home in the future, and hurting the next generation’s opportunity to thrive. We must enact renter protections like right to counsel and eviction records sealing to preserve residents’ short- and long-term housing stability. We must also expand rental voucher programs and create more permanently affordable homes across the Commonwealth.
CHAPA supports the following immediate actions to prevent evictions and distribute emergency rental assistance as quickly as possible.
Immediate Federal Actions
CHAPA supports the National Low Income Housing Coalition in its call for the Biden Administration to take every action to protect renters immediately. This call includes implementing an eviction moratorium for renters living in all federally assisted properties by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Treasury Department should also continue eliminating barriers to get emergency rental assistance out to households in need more quickly.
Congress should also enact long-term solutions to address our affordable housing challenges in the infrastructure and economic recovery packages, including expanding rental assistance to all eligible households.
Immediate State Actions
Massachusetts should immediately:
- Enforce state eviction protections. The surging Delta variant and additional time needed for renters to apply and be approved for emergency rental assistance demand that all existing state eviction protections are enforced. This includes a state law requiring eviction cases to be delayed if the resident has a pending application for emergency rental assistance.
- Quickly distribute emergency rental assistance. To date, Massachusetts has distributed nearly $225 million of the over $750 million in emergency rental assistance provided by the state and federal government. While significant progress has been made in distributing aid, we must get funds out even faster.
- Provide funding for community-based organizations. The state should immediately provide $5 million directly to those local community-based organizations working on the ground in disproportionately impacted communities to help residents learn about and apply for all available resources, including emergency rental assistance and legal aid.
- Enact additional renter protections. Other measures, such as right to counsel and eviction records sealing, can help protect renters against evictions and their long-term impacts on housing stability.
With the end of the moratorium, more eviction cases will be filed. To improve access to emergency rental assistance, we must immediately:
- Reduce documentation requirements. Per Treasury guidance, all emergency rental assistance programs should use self-attestations to satisfy eligibility requirements.
- Streamline the application process. The emergency rental assistance application process should continue to be streamlined, including launching a more user-friendly, central application as soon as possible and improving language access. These changes will help renters submit complete applications and speed up approvals and distribution of emergency rental assistance to residents and landlords.
- Partner with local community-based organizations. Emergency rental assistance programs should partner with local community-based organizations to conduct outreach and engagement and provide housing navigation and application support to help distribute emergency rental assistance funds more quickly.
by iwd Tina | Aug 30, 2021 | Housing News
On August 26, 2021, the United State Supreme Court invalidated the federal eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Supreme Court agreed with a lower court ruling that the CDC lacked the authority to enact such an eviction moratorium.
In Massachusetts, certain state eviction protections remain in place. Most importantly, state law requires courts to delay eviction cases if there is a pending application for emergency rental assistance applications. This protection is in place through April 1, 2022.
by iwd Tina | Aug 25, 2021 | Housing News
On August 25, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for potential supportive housing projects.
According to the NOFA, DHCD will make up to $16 million in National Housing Trust Fund capital funds available during the December 2021 competition. About 100 project-based MRVPs also will be available, with the potential of $1,500 per unit per year in service funding attached to each MRVP.
These supportive housing developments will target homeless families and individuals, veterans, unaccompanied homeless youth, seniors with service needs, and individuals with substance use disorders. Projects intended to serve homeless families will have high priority during the December 2021 funding competition.
Sponsors interested in participating in the December 2021 funding competition must submit a pre-application to the Department through the on-line Mass OneStop+ system on or before October 14, 2021. Full funding applications will be due December 9, 2021.
DHCD will hold an information session in September for developers with projects that may be eligible. Please contact Terry Farmer at Theresa.farmer@mass.gov if you would like to join the information session.
by iwd Tina | Aug 23, 2021 | Housing News
CHAPA is seeking two new staff members to join our team.
The primary responsibility of the Office Administrator is to perform a wide range of administrative and office support activities for CHAPA’s 14-person team in order to facilitate the efficient operation of the organization.
The primary responsibility of the Program Manager is to assist low and moderate income individuals and families with the resale or refinance of their affordable homes.
Both full job descriptions can be viewed on CHAPA’s Jobs Board or by clicking the links above.
CHAPA is an equal opportunity employer; we value diversity and encourage individuals of various backgrounds to apply.
