Amy on the Issues

Housing is one of the most important issues facing our City and the Commonwealth.

Many homeowners, especially those who purchased their homes many years ago, have benefited from a steep increase in the value of their homes. But for those who are looking to buy in Newton or many communities around Boston, home prices are out of reach for all but the wealthy. Housing costs have led to an exodus of young people from

Massachusetts, which harms our economy when employers cannot find skilled people to hire, and is a negative impact on those who would like their children and grandchildren to be able to live nearby. For those who want to downsize, finding an affordable apartment or condo is difficult even after selling their home. And for those on limited income, access to safe, habitable, and truly affordable housing has become impossible.

The MBTA Communities Law requires 177 cities and towns near train and commuter rail stops to rezone for more density - specifically establish at least one district, within a half mile from public transportation, of a reasonable size where multi-family housing is permitted by right. Newton submitted its MBTA-compliant zoning by the December 31, 2023 deadline. The law was designed to increase housing supply but not designed to specifically address the affordable housing crisis. More intentional action is needed to create truly affordable housing.

As your State Representative, I will:

● Support efforts to direct resources to upgrade and preserve existing affordable housing, ensure safe and livable housing conditions, and that housing is accessible for all.

● Support legislation to authorize cities and towns to levy real estate transfer fees to fund affordable housing preservation and production.

● Support reform of the Housing Development Incentive Program - a tax credit program that currently subsidizes market-rate housing so that it can support affordable housing as well.

● Legalize Accessory Dwelling Units on a statewide basis but allow communities to decide how best to run those programs. (Newton took this step several years ago and it has led to dozens of new housing units).

● Support investment and subsidies to create more truly affordable housing opportunities

● Support funding to ensure new housing meets our climate action goals and is not fossil fuel reliant.

Tenant and Homeowner Protections:

My day job informs me of the struggles tenants and homeowners face every day to stay housed. Large corporations and private equity firms are buying up properties, and driving existing tenants out by either allowing the properties to decline or raising rents so they are no longer affordable. These entities don’t care about the tenants or the communities where these properties are located but are driven by corporate greed. On the homeownership front, lenders are often quick to foreclose and homeowners left without guidance or options.

As your State Representative, I will support the following:

● Increase funding for wrap-around programs and services to help tenants stay housed.

● Give cities and towns the ability to adopt rent control or other measures to stabilize rents in their communities.

● Allow cities and towns to implement locally-needed eviction protections to ban no-fault evictions and clarify for tenants and landlords what qualifies as a legal reason to evict.

● Support eviction sealing for dismissed cases where tenants prevail and no-fault evictions.

● Support the right to counsel and funding legal programs to provide that legal counsel.

● Support requiring mediation prior to foreclosures.