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.
by iwd Tina | Aug 10, 2021 | Housing News
On August 10, Housing Navigator launched its free affordable housing search tool. The Housing Navigator worked with owners and public sector partners to build a database of income-restricted rental listings from all over the state.
According to the Housing Navigator’s press release on its launch, the housing search platform will raise the experience of searching for affordable housing to be in line with the experience of looking for market-rate apartments on familiar websites like Apartments.com and Trulia.
The first release includes over 2,100 properties and over 160,000 affordable rentals in 260+ cities and towns. There are hundreds more in process. Users may search by their location preference filtering for eligibility, affordability, accessibility, and more. Listings will feature photos, amenities and are mapped to nearby transit.
The Navigator will show basic listings where information from public sources has been confirmed. The site’s “verified listings,” provides renters with additional details supplied by property owners. Additionally, properties newly funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and other partner agencies, will be required to list on the site, keeping the statewide inventory consistently up-to-date. Over 3,000 properties across the state have been identified and are in process.
The Housing Navigator will continue to add features to simplify search and resources with deeper information on affordable housing options and the application process. Additional listings will appear on the site as more property owners and managers verify their properties and keep listings accurate and up-to-date.
by iwd Tina | Aug 4, 2021 | Housing News
Thank you to those of you who were able to join us for our August 2nd session, Making the Case for Local ARPA Funds. We discussed funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and how it could be used for housing at the local level, including eligible uses, such as for affordable housing production, homeownership, non-congregate shelter acquisition, public housing, and supportive housing.
If you were unable to attend or want to review what we covered, you can view a recording of the session on YouTube.
You can also view materials shared during the session
We are also asking local representatives to complete this Google Form to help us get a handle on what municipalities are considering for their local ARPA funds and housing efforts. Please complete it as you are able.
For more information, please contact Dana LeWinter, Director of Municipal Engagement.
by iwd Tina | Aug 3, 2021 | Housing News
Testimony as delivered to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary in August 2021:
CHAPA’s is writing in support of S.921, An Act promoting housing opportunity and mobility through eviction sealing (HOMES).
CHAPA’s mission is to encourage the production and preservation of housing that is affordable to families and individuals with low and moderate incomes and to foster diverse and sustainable communities through planning and community development.
CHAPA believes that everyone should have a safe, healthy, accessible, and affordable home in communities they choose. We are the only statewide group that represents the entire housing ecosystem. CHAPA is a trusted convener and consensus builder to a wide range of interests making sure that our state is enacting, investing in, and implementing smart affordable housing policies.
The Commonwealth’s future is shaped by us. In Massachusetts, we all flourish when our neighbors and neighborhoods that we love flourish. This has helped us to come together in the past to keep our people and communities nourished and growing. We came together to be the first to invest in our collective health through universal health care. In 2018, led by this Committee, we came together to lift people up instead of locking them up through landmark Criminal Justice Reform. We are also leading right now when it comes to investing in home.
The time for collective action is now. To ensure the future of the people and places we love, we must keep cultivating our shared strength by enacting S.921. The urgent impacts of the COVID pandemic and the damaging legacy of racial injustice are putting our entire Commonwealth’s future at risk. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to come together again now and lead to a thriving tomorrow.
Where we grow makes us strong. Like a garden, where we grow plays a huge role in whether we have what we need to flourish or whether we will struggle to thrive. Unfortunately, opportunities to flourish have been withheld from so many of the Commonwealth’s families—especially families of color—through discriminatory policies and practices that have drained our collective strength.
To get to the future that we want, we can and must do things differently. S.921 will help everyone in the Commonwealth thrive by providing a better future for tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents looking for their next home. Reforming our eviction records processes will protect residents from the ongoing harm and stigma caused by permanent or inaccurate eviction records when trying to find a home.
S.921 will also help grow a housing ecosystem that benefits everyone—our people, our communities, and our systems.
For our people, S.921 will give Massachusetts residents more choice to find, rent, or buy a new home in a community where they want to live by limiting damaging eviction records. With better access to a stable and affordable homes, individuals and families will be better able to work, care for their families, and educate their children. Removing some of the stress and trauma caused by evictions will also improve physical and mental health.[1]
For our communities, S.921 will make us more diverse socially by allowing residents to live and thrive in communities they may not have previously been able to live. Increasing a family’s choice to live in the community they want will also help create economic growth by allowing more residents to live closer to their jobs.
For our systems, S.921 will help address social and economic inequality by improving our eviction records policies that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.[2] By providing more stability for residents and communities and increasing access to homes that are affordable, S.921 will help strengthen our health, education, and workforce systems.[3]
S.921 gives us the opportunity to cultivate a stronger housing ecosystem through reform of the eviction records process. The current way provides unrestricted availability to online eviction records that may be decades old, inaccurate, or obsolete.[4] This system can have serious negative impacts on people’s ability to find a home, their credit, and even their employment.
The current process does not take into account the outcome of the eviction case, whether the case is the fault of the tenant, whether there was an adverse judgment against the tenant that actually resulted in an eviction, or whether a tenant satisfied the judgement. The process allows unregulated access to these records by tenant screening services and consumer reporting agencies. There is also no process for parties to correct any errors in eviction records.
S.921 addresses these issues by creating an intentional, balanced approach for our eviction record processes. The bill offers important protections for residents while still providing property owners with access to relevant information on eviction cases for current or future tenants. S.921 seals all eviction cases when filed and while the case is pending. An eviction case will become public when there is an agreement, judgement, or when a tenant is actually evicted in a case for fault or non-payment of rent. These records would be publicly available for three years. S.921 also creates a process for parties to correct any errors in eviction case records.
S.921 will also help us recover from the pandemic. Tens of thousands of residents face being involved in eviction cases as state and federal eviction moratoria end after falling behind on rent because of COVID.[5] While emergency rental assistance may prevent many of these evictions, every person involved in these cases face the long term consequences of an eviction record. S.921 will immediately help these residents by ensuring that any eviction record will not be a permanent barrier to finding a home in the future.
There has never been a better moment to put Massachusetts on a path to equity, resilience, and sustainability through housing. Affordable housing is a top priority of Massachusetts residents. We have committed leadership at the state. We also have new tools and resources to build more homes that are affordable.
We need bold action to harvest a strong future. CHAPA urges the Committee to vote out S.921 favorably. Thank you for your consideration and for your continued commitment in growing a Commonwealth where everyone can thrive.
[1] See Gracie Himmelstein & Matthew Desmond, Health Affairs, Eviction And Health: A Vicious Cycle Exacerbated By A Pandemic (April 1, 2021) (with evictions disproportionately affecting people of color, especially households with low-income, the health consequences of eviction are likely to widen both racial and socioeconomic disparities in health).
