First, in the early morning hours of August 1, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the Affordable Homes Act, a $5.2 billion housing bond bill. The bill now goes to the Governor for signature.
Good news:
- The bill includes eviction record sealing, including immediate protections for cases that have been dismissed and cases that tenants win. This is a BIG WIN.
- The bill also includes language creating a Supportive Housing Pool Fund to support the production of permanent supportive housing, another key Network priority.
Bad news:
- The bill does NOT include the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or the Transfer Fee for Affordable Housing (we already knew the latter but it deserves to be repeated here).
Read summary details of the bill in this State House News article here. There are additional significant wins and disappointments, and we’ll provide more detail in the weeks ahead. But the bottom line for now: a $5.2 billion housing bond bill is a big deal!
Right now: we need to make sure eviction record sealing stays in the bill (there is some pressure from other quarters to veto it). She needs to hear from us!
Please email Governor Healey today or tomorrow with the following message, which you can copy or add to or edit, whatever works for you!
Dear Governor Healey,
We urge you to adopt Section 52 of The Affordable Homes Act, H. 4977, which provides essential eviction record sealing protections for tenants, including for tenants whose cases have been dismissed or who win their case. We are grateful that you included eviction sealing protections in your original Affordable Homes Act and hope that you will continue to support these provisions by adopting Section 52 of The Affordable Homes Act, H. 4977 so that tenants will not have an eviction record for life that prevents them from accessing safe and decent housing. Eviction sealing laws have been adopted throughout the country. Now we hope, with your final approval, that the Commonwealth will have an eviction sealing record law that will protect tenants. Thank you.
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Let’s get this over the finish line!
