Housing News

 

On July 28th, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its Economic Development Bill, H.4887, An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth. On July 29th, The State Massachusetts Senate passed its version of the Economic Development Bill, S.2842. Both versions had multiple housing provisions and affordable housing resources. Differences in the two versions are briefed in the table below with more details at bottom of the page.

Over 300 people live streamed Superior Court Judge Paul Wilson's hearing on the eviction moratorium last Thursday (Matorin et al. v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts). The ban was enacted by the legislature on April 17, 2020 under its emergency powers to protect the health of citizens of the Commonwealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suit was brought by two landlords who seek an end to the ban, claiming infringement of their right to access to the courts, a violation of separation of powers, and a taking of property.

On August 4, Governor Baker signed in-part a $16.5 billion interim state budget, H.4905, that will keep state government operating through October 31st. The current fiscal year, FY2021, began on July 1st. Massachusetts has been running on short term budgets since then.

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) recently announced two affordable housing funding rounds - one for supportive housing and another for single room occupancy (SRO) housing.  Supportive Housing Funding Round

Are you looking for immediate assistance during COVID-19? Please see our Assistance During COVID-19 page. CHAPA's upcoming Affordable Housing Coronavirus Response virtual meetings can be found on our events page. Notes from previous meetings can be found below:

On July 30th, the Massachusetts House and Senate voted to change their rules to allow the Legislature to continue meeting for the rest of the year in formal sessions. 

On July 29th, Massachusetts Senate passed its Economic Development Bill, S.2842, An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth. The bill contains important provisions that are critical to creating and preserving affordable housing in Massachusetts, supporting our economy, and addressing inequities in housing. These provisions include:

On July 28th, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its Economic Development Bill, H.4887, An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth. The bill contains important provisions that are critical to creating and preserving affordable housing in Massachusetts, supporting our economy, and addressing inequities in housing. These provisions include:

Many of the affordable housing policies we’ve been advocating for this legislative session are now being considered as part of the Economic Development Bill (H.4879), which will be voted on this afternoon in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.