City Of Boston: August 2021: Latest Updates From The Department Of Neighborhood Development

Press release from the City of Boston:

August 10, 2021

The federal eviction moratorium has been extended until October 3, 2021 due to rising rates of COVID-19 positivity. Renters at-risk of eviction and landlords who have tenants who are behind on rent should know about these available resources:

• There are millions of dollars available to tenants through the City’s Rental Relief Fund and the State’s RAFT program. Landlords can also access funds to help pay mortgages through the State’s ERMA program. To date, the City has distributed more than $16 million to more than 3,000 families.
• Tenants should be aware that there are State protections for any tenant who has applied for rental assistance from the above programs. The City also requires that any landlord planning to end a tenancy provides tenants with a Notice of Tenant’s Rights and Resources.
• The Office of Housing Stability (OHS) has partnered with Greater Boston Legal Services to ensure that tenants who come to court have legal representation. OHS also has counselors available by email, phone or in person who can assist tenants. Tenants should visit boston.gov/housingstability or email rrf@boston.gov to learn more about how to access available resources.
• OHS runs weekly virtual legal clinics and office hours for tenants needing assistance. Through the clinics and office hours, OHS can connect tenants with a landlord mediator. Tenants can find information on the steps to take if they are facing eviction on the OHS website.
• If you have an urgent housing issue or have further questions about resources, please call 617-635-4200 for assistance. Tenants are also welcome to visit OHS in person at 43 Hawkins Street from 9am to 5pm on Mondays through Fridays.

Neighborhood Housing Development has been awarded $50,000 by The Boston Foundation’s New Commonwealth Fund to hire a development consultant to provide technical assistance to applicants and selected developers who are interested in redeveloping Blue Hill Ave Action Plan parcels.

This year’s funding round will provide grants to those eligible developments that encourage innovative approaches to increase the production of housing that is affordable to a mix of incomes, support housing developments that seek to maintain mixed-income communities, as well as those that help preserve existing “at risk” developments.

Dr. Cain has proven her creativity, people centered approach, and commitment to advancing equity in her work most recently as the Director of the City’s Housing Innovation Lab. During her tenure, she was able to spearhead the work coming out of the lab including the recently launched competition Co-Creating Boston’s Future Decker and the Additional Dwelling Unit 2.0 pilot.

Setarreh Massihzadegan is spending the 10 weeks of her Rappaport Fellowship with Neighborhood Housing Development working on two projects — better understanding the cost of senior supportive services and researching creative locally-driven affordable housing funding sources. Setarreh just completed her first year as a Gerontology PhD student at UMass Boston and is a Research Assistant in its Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging.

This press release was produced by the City of Boston. The views expressed here are the author’s own.