►
From YouTube: Housing & Community Development on March 30, 2023
Description
Housing & Community Development Hearing - Docket #0412, Order for a hearing to create a Renters' Bill of Rights for the City Of Boston
A
Good
morning,
everyone
I'm
calling
this
hearing
to
order
for
the
record.
My
name
is
Kendra
Lara
district
6,
City,
councilor
and
I'm.
The
chair
of
the
Boston
City
council's
committee
on
Housing
and
Community
Development
I'm
joined
this
morning
by
my
colleagues,
counselor
council,
president
Ed
Flynn
from
District
2,
Council
or
Liz
Braden
from
District
9
and
I
have
a
letter
of
absence
from
Council
City
councilor
at
large
Aaron
Murphy.
A
That
reads
dear
chair,
Lara
I
am
writing
to
inform
you
of
my
absence
during
today's
city
council
hearing
on
docket
number
0412
regarding
a
hearing
to
create
a
renter's
Bill
of
Rights
for
the
city
of
Boston,
a
representative
from
my
staff
will
be
listening
in
and
following
up
with
me,
I
look
forward
to
reviewing
the
footage
and
following
up
as
need,
be
I
sincerely
regret
that
I
could
not
attend
this
hearing
this
afternoon
and
I
may
as
I
made
prior
commitments.
That
I
must
keep.
A
This
hearing
is
being
recorded
and
it
is
being
live
stream
at
boston.gov
forward,
slash,
City,
Dash,
council.tv
and
broadcast
on
Xfinity
channel
8,
RCN
channel
82
and
FiOS
channel
964..
Today's
hearing
is
on
docket
number
zero,
four
one,
two.
In
order
for
a
hearing
to
create
a
renter's
Bill
of
Rights
for
the
city
of
Boston,
we're
in
comments
may
be
sent
to
the
committee
email
at
ccc.housing
boston.gov
and
will
be
made
a
part
of
the
record
and
available
to
all
counselors.
A
We
will
be
taking
public
testimony
at
the
end
of
today's
hearing
and
if
you're
here
with
us
in
the
chamber,
please
sign
up
at
the
sheet
near
the
chamber
entrance
if
you're
interested
in
testifying
virtually
please
email,
Juan
Lopez
at
huang.lopez
boston.gov
for
the
link
for
all
testimony.
Please
state
your
name
and
neighborhood
or
affiliation,
and
try
to
keep
your
comments
to
two
minutes
joining
us
today.
From
the
mayor's
Administration,
we
have
Bob
Terrell
the
executive
director
of
The
Office
of
fair
housing
and
Equity.
A
A
From
our
community
panel,
we
have
Mark
Martinez
housing
staff
attorney
at
the
Massachusetts
law
reform,
Institute,
a
board
member
at
City,
Life,
Vida
Urbana,
and
also
my
former
Chief
of
Staff
and
Mary
status,
who
is
a
member
and
organizer
with
the
Greater
Boston
Tenants
Union
before
I
turned
the
floor
over
to
our
panel
I
would
like
to
acknowledge
my
Council
colleagues
for
any
opening
remarks.
In
order
of
arrival.
President
Flynn,
you
have
the
floor.
B
Thank
you,
madam
chair,
and
looking
forward
to
hearing
from
the
panelists
that
are
doing
important
work
in
the
city.
These
City
officials,
professional
and
hard-working,
and
provide
tremendous
services
to
the
residents
I'm.
Also
looking
forward
to
hearing
the
testimony
from
the
law,
students
from
Boston
College
as
well
I
got
here
early
before
the
start
of
the
the
hearing
and
had
an
opportunity
to
listen
and
talk
to
some
of
the
students
but
impressed
in
their
professionalism
and
hard-working
dedication
to
supporting
tenants
and
I
did
a
little
bit
of
research.
B
Last
night
on
this
topic
and
I
find
I
found
that
most
tenants
that
the
students
could
tell
us
this,
but
most
tenants
that
go
into
Housing
Court,
unfortunately
go
into
Housing
Court
without
any
legal
representation
and
the
landlord.
When
the
landlog
goes
into
housing
court,
they
always
go
in
with
legal
representation
that
makes
that
makes
the
difference
but
want
to
acknowledge
the
these
students
law
students.
They
play
a
critical
role
in
supporting
tenants,
but
it's
important
that
we
also
provide
tenants
with
the
opportunity
and
availability
of
a
competent
lawyer
going
into
court.
I.
B
C
C
A
A
The
creator
of
the
housing
Justice
movement
in
the
city
of
in
the
city
of
Boston,
Mel
King,
was
one
of
my
mentors
and
somebody
who
I
learned
so
much
from
along
with
so
many
of
the
other
young
organizers
and
youth
organizers
in
the
city
of
Boston
who
come
from
my
generation.
My
good
friend,
Alex
pontecape
will
be
sitting
on
the
piano
later
and
Armani
white.
Who
is
one
of
the
co-founders
of
the
organization
reclaimed
Roxbury?
A
They
wrote
the
epilogue
to
the
reprint
of
chains
of
Change
by
Mel
King
called
the
Future
Link
of
the
chains
of
change
and
really
talked
about
how
Mel
King
influenced
us
as
housing,
Justice,
organizers
and
what
it
meant
for
our
future
and
how
we
would
ultimately
look
to
him
and
all
of
the
organizers
and
the
housing
Justice
organizers
that
came
before
us
for
guidance.
And
so
here
we
are
now
elected
officials,
leaders
in
the
housing,
Justice
movement
and
we
all
have
very
big
shoes
to
fill.
So.
A
My
hope
today
is
that
this
hearing
is
anchored
in
the
legacy
of
Mel
King
and
that
the
conversation
that
we
have
here
today
is
as
consequential
as
it
needs
to
be
and
really
sets
the
tone
for
the
work
to
come
ahead.
It
is
our
turn
now.
So,
let's
do
him
proud.
I
am
going
to
turn
the
floor
over
to
our
panel
now.
Do
you
have
an
order,
at
least
the
administration
in
which
you
want
to
speak.
E
E
Our
office
is
very
front-facing,
so
whether
it
is
a
family
who
is
coming
to
our
office
because
a
family
member
is
the
target
of
a
rival
gang
or
it
is
a
single
individual
who
has
fallen
behind
on
rent
and
is
unable
to
sustain
their
tendency
going
forward
with
rental
payments
or
a
family
whose
landlord
is
threatening
to
evict
them
without
any
type
of
due
process.
These
are
the
type
of
phone
calls
that
we
get
on
a
daily
basis.
E
Upwards
of
90
calls
a
day
regarding
these
types
of
crises,
and
while
crisis
is
a
big
part
of
our
role,
we
also
try
to
encourage
eviction
prevention.
So
we
do
a
lot
of
Upstream
Upstream
eviction,
prevention
work,
so
collaborating
with
legal
aid
to
host
a
weekly
Legal
Clinic.
We
work
with
Greater
Boston
Legal
Services,
where
constituents
can
virtually
ask
a
lawyer
a
question,
or
they
can
ask
one
of
our
mediators,
a
question
or
a
member
of
our
staff,
a
question
regarding
their
legal
rights.
E
We
also
have
a
Housing
search
Workshop
that
we
run
on
a
bi-weekly
basis,
where
we
provide
tenants
with
what
they
should
know
prior
to
moving
in.
So
what
the
state
sanitary
code
looks
like
what
the
fees
you
should
be
paying
when
you
move
into
a
unit.
What
are
legal
fees?
What
chapter
93a
even
means
so
apprising
tenets
of
their
rights
as
it
relates
to
moving
into
a
unit,
and
then
we
also
work
with
the
Eastern
Housing
Court,
which
has
jurisdiction
over
the
city
of
Boston
and
the
housing
court
cases
so
working
with
them
collaboratively.
E
We
have
a
table
that
we
provide
twice
a
week,
Tuesdays
and
Thursdays,
where
we
sit
in
the
in
the
clerk's
office
and
provide
constituents
assistance,
whether
that's
rental
assistance
or
providing
them
with
other
resources.
If
the
tenancy
is
no
longer
sustainable,
trying
to
figure
out
a
way
outside
of
the
court
process
where
they
don't
have
an
eviction
record
on
their
on
their
file,
so
utilizing
that
type
of
assistance
with
the
housing
court,
and
then
we
also
have
our
housing
stability
notification
act,
which
was
enacted
in
2020
due
to
the
pandemic.
E
That
is
another
way
where
we
ensure
that
landlords
are
notifying
the
city
of
when
a
notice
to
quit
is
filed,
so
that
notice
to
quit
comes
to
our
office
and
we're
able
to
do
Upstream
work
by
notifying
tenants.
Hey
you
just
received
a
notice
us.
Are
you
aware
that
you
have
to
be
at
a
first
tier
event?
Are
you
aware
that
you
have
a
motion
hearing
coming
up
so
also
working
with
the
courts
collaboratively
with
that
and
with
the
landlords
throughout
the
city?
E
E
D
F
Floor:
okay,
good
morning,
chair
Lara
members
of
the
committee,
thank
you
for
the
invitation
to
testify
today
on
a
renter
Bill
of
Rights,
the
Boston
Housing
Authority.
As
you
know,
we
are
a
large
property
owner,
but
one
with
a
public
mission
to
serve
extremely
low-income,
tenants,
seniors
persons
with
disabilities
and
many
other
constituencies.
F
F
What
I'd
like
to
do
just
for
a
few
minutes
now
is
talk
about
what
we
do
and
how
it
lines
up
with
some
of
those
principles
that
the
Biden
Administration
put
out
and
I
think
the
city
through
offices
like
housing,
stability
and
others
really
readily
Embrace.
So
what
I
see
and
what
the
you
know,
what
the
federal
government
has,
what
the
White
House
has
put
out:
there
save
quality,
accessible,
affordable
housing,
clear
and
fair
leases,
education
enforcement
enhancement
of
Rights
right
to
organize
eviction.
F
Prevention,
diversion
relief,
so
the
BHA
has
long-standing
engagement
with
each
of
these
principles
and
in
part
there
is
the
component
of
it.
That's
law
and
regulation
around
our
requirement
to
provide
safe,
habitable,
affordable
housing,
and
there
are
also
the
efforts
we
put
in
to
make
that
happen.
We
continue
to
pursue
resources
to
improve
the
capital
status
and
address
the
capital
backlog
on
our
properties
and
we're
grateful
for
the
city
which,
under
this
Administration
under
this
Council,
has
given
an
unparalleled
partnership
to
Bringing
buildings,
to
where
the
level
that
that
tenants
really
deserve.
F
We
don't
come
about
this
to
the
council
as
much,
but
we
operate
several
voucher
programs,
the
largest
of
which
is
the
federal
Section
A
voucher,
and
we
administer
thousands
of
Section
8
vouchers
in
Eastern
Massachusetts,
in
that
we
are
not
simply
making
payments,
but
we
also
run
an
inspections
operation.
So
we
have
inspectors
traveling,
not
only
throughout
Boston
but
through
communities
in
Eastern
Massachusetts
to
make
sure
units
are
up
to
code
and
that's
not
simply
done
at
the
outset,
but
we
respond.
F
F
So
we
have
what
the
work
that
we
do
on
our
own
housing
communities,
and
then
we
have
the
work
that
we
do
in
the
private
Market
through
the
voucher
programs
as
well
in
terms
of
leases,
our
lease,
you
know,
there's
pretty
extensive
things
that
HUD
and
dacd
do
require,
and
we
I
think
Embrace
those.
We
also
do
everything
in
our
power
to
make
sure
that
the
lease
is
available
accessible
to
all
of
Boston's,
diverse
constituencies
who
might
be
living
in
our
housing.
F
So
on
a
basic
level
right,
you
can
go
on
our
website
and
see
it
in
English,
Spanish
and
Chinese
you
can.
We
can
provide
it
in
other
languages
for
other
populations.
You
know
we
House
people
who
speak
Arabic,
Somali
Albanian
Russian
many.
You
know
we
have
many
communities
there.
So
both
we
implement
the
numerous
requirements
passed
down
by
the
federal
and
state
Regulators,
but
also
do
everything
we
can
to
make
that
accessible
to
people.
However,
they
arrive
at
our
door
in
terms
of
the
kind
of
education
of
Rights
and
the
right
to
organize
components.
F
F
That
is
a
critical
one
and
we
are
grateful
to
Mel
King
and
his
legacy,
one
small
aspect
of
which
the
many
things
that
he
did
was
creating
that
or
leaving
that
Legacy
of
tenant,
organizing
and
education
that
has
been
formally
institutionalized.
Now
we
benefit
from
tremendously
in
terms
of
eviction
prevention,
diversion
relief.
We
really
work
on
our
own
accord.
We
work
we
work
to
stabilize
tenancies
the
basic
way
that
we
do.
That
is
if
someone
is
behind
on
rent
right,
we
do
try
to
work
with
them.
F
It's
repayment
agreements
before
other
things,
but
we
also
work
with
people
to
find
rental
assistance
and
we
have
a
really
close
partnership
with
the
office
of
housing,
stability,
I
think
I'm,
particularly
proud.
You
know.
During
the
pandemic,
we
set
up
a
rental
relief
program
that
functions
internally
to
the
BHA,
that
is,
that
is
City
supported
and
the
reason
we've
done.
F
Outside
of
that.
You
know
we
do
refer
tenants
to
Raft
and
other
programs,
and
we
continue
to
work
through
other
measures.
There
is
a
basic
Dynamic,
even
if
we're
a
public
interest
entity
that
we
are
a
landlord
and
our
tenants
are
tenants-
and
we
understand
that
sometimes
what's
critical
in
these
interventions
is
not
just
resources,
but
it's
also
trust
and
it
can
be
valuable
to
have
third
party
entities
engaging
with
tenants
in
that
capacity.
So
we
work
through
other
Partnerships
like
the
Tennessee
preservation
program.
We
work
with
entities
like
homestart.
F
We
work
with
people
that
the
office
of
housing
stability
is
hired
as
vendors
that
may
serve
specific
communities
or
sub
communities
in
Boston
right.
Maybe
it's
a
specific
language
group
or
a
neighborhood
or
set
of
residents
that
they're
better
at
working
with,
and
our
position
has
always
been
that,
even
if
it
is
even
if
it's
a
tenant,
where
BHA
has
come
to
the
point,
for
whatever
reason
that
we're
saying
this,
you
know
you
no
longer
belong
in
this
property.
F
F
We
have
better
results
for
people
and
it's
something
that
we
hope
that
we
will
really
see
throughout.
You
know
the
state
and
private
market
and
elsewhere,
where
the
push
for
access
to
council
is
a
strong.
So
thank
you
and
I'm
always
happy
to
talk
more
about
the
VHA
and
we
are
in
a
constant
process
of
trying
to
improve
anything.
We
do.
D
D
One
of
the
concerns
I
have
and
I'll
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
this
later.
When
we
get
to
the
issue
of
leases,
which
my
colleague
from
the
BHA
just
raised
in
the
private
Market,
people
are
coerced
into
signing
leases
that
are
not
advantageous
to
them.
You
are
presented
with
a
fat
accompli,
a
document
that's
already
written,
and
if
you
don't
sign
it,
you
don't
get
to
rent
the
apartment.
D
D
The
Bill
of
Rights
should
make
it
very
clear,
as
we
do
in
our
Fair
Housing
Act,
that
if
you
file
a
fair
housing
complaint
and
anyone
takes
any
kind
of
abusive
action
towards
you,
that
is
a
second
claim
against
the
respondent
and
there
are
very
strict
rules
in
serious
penalties
for
that
kind
of
retaliation,
which
goes
on
way
too
often
in
the
city
of
Boston.
So
we
need
to
really
strengthen
the
anti-retaliation
portion
of
a
Bill
of
Rights.
D
D
A
G
G
The
number
of
affluent
resident
rental
households
in
Boston
bounced
182
percent
between
2007
and
2010.,
and
while
the
number
of
home
owners
buy
households
pulling
in
at
least
150
000
increase
by
83
percent,
affluent
households
are
still
unable
to
own
and
and
and
instead
have
to
rent
this
amplifies
inequities,
as
as
it
drives
up
the
cost
of
rent
with
poor
people
unable
to
afford
hiked
up
rent.
The
Attorney
General's
office
received
918
landlord
tenant
complaints
in
2002.
G
G
With
an
additional
171,
please
for
help
through
the
AG's
eviction,
help
request
form
many
of
the
complaints
concerned.
Unsafe
and
unsanitary
conditions
in
rental
units,
rent
highs,
right,
rent
hikes
and
evictions
I'm
going
to
stop
with
numbers
I'm
just
going
to
flow
real
quick,
because
you
know
my
office
on
a
daily
basis
gets
calls
from
people
who
are
either
undocumented,
who
are
afraid
of
reporting
the
type
of
conditions
that
they're
living
in,
because
they
want
to
make
sure
that
they
maintain
their
homes.
And
sometimes
people
are
living
in
mold
rat
infested.
G
A
shame
I'm
just
trying
to
I'm
in
the
chamber
trying
to
find
my
words
right
here,
but
I
think
that
when
we're
thinking
about
renters
and
and
Bill
of
Rights,
I
really
do
appreciate
this
whole
idea
of
the
right
to
negotiate
Elise,
because
it
should
be
a
relationship
that
is
on
level
ground.
It
shouldn't
be
the
landlord
being
the
king
and
then
the
people
who
are
trying
to
stay
in
their
homes
to
do
whatever
they
can
to
maintain
it
right.
G
If
you
will
levels
of
playing
field
and
I
think
that
this
is
an
opportunity
for
us
as
a
city
to
not
only
support
our
most
vulnerable
communities,
who
oftentimes
go
with
very
little
recourse
to
be
able
to
have
something
that
is
formal
when,
in
2021
and
during
the
height
of
covet,
our
office
worked
with
Civic
associations
across
the
city,
and
one
thing
that
bubbled
up
to
the
top
is
that
there
is
no
consistent
way
in
how
renters
are
get.
You
know.
G
The
way
they
treat
renters
in
Austin
and
Brighton
is
very
different
than
the
way
they
treat
them
in
Roxbury
and
Mattapan,
and
that
there's
nothing
that
is
consistent
so
having
something
that
is
formal
throughout
the
entire
city
of
Boston.
A
legal
document
that
we
can
hold
ourselves
accountable
to
gives
renters
the
rights
to
really
believe
that
they
are
being
taken
care
of
by
the
city
as
well.
So
I
look
forward
to
learning
what
that's
going
to
look
like
and
supporting
my
my
lead
sponsors
and
helping
to
do
just
that.
Thank
you.
A
C
C
Thank
you
again,
I'm
just
wondering
about
the
logistics,
because
I
represent
Alston,
Brighton
and
I.
Think
75
of
the
rentals
turn
over
on
the
first
of
September.
That's
a
huge
volume
and
a
lot
of
the
renters
it's
as
country
he
already
referred
to.
Every
every
part
of
our
city
is
different.
We
have
a
particular
subset
of
renters
in
in
Austin
Brighton,
a
lot
of
a
lot
of
the
young
people
coming
to
college
and
they've,
never
rented
an
apartment
in
their
lives
and
they're.
C
We
we
spend
a
lot
of
time
working
with
with
call
on
calls
to
try
and
rectify
really
substandard
situations
and
rat
infested
places
and
all
sorts
of
incredible
housing
conditions
that
shouldn't
even
be
allowed.
It
shouldn't
even
happen
but
again
trying
to
get
back
to
the
logistics
of
implementing
this
individual
negotiation
of
the
of
the
lease
in
a
context
like
Alston
Brighton,
where
there's
just
such
a
huge
volume
of
young
people
coming
in
I'm,
very
naive
and
no
experience
in
this
necessarily
how
we,
how
would
we
would
work
with
that?
C
D
I
think
those
of
us
in
this
fight
have
had
the
same
question
for
quite
a
while,
which
is
why
I'm
glad
we're
we're
having
this
hearing,
because
I
think
it's
time
for
us
to
to
have
some
sort
of
Roundtable
discussion
and
figure
out
exactly
how
to
do
that.
Most
of
the
major
firms
in
the
city
have
a
provision
where
their
attorneys
have
to
contribute
so
many
hours
of
pro
bono
representation.
That
would
be
a
great
good
place.
To
start.
D
A
H
Opening
remarks
yes
well
good
morning.
Everyone
glad
to
be
with
all
of
you
to
be
discussion
to
be
discussing
how
we
can
further
protect
our
renters
in
the
city
of
Boston.
We
know
from
the
data
that
that
evictions
are
increasing
in
the
city
of
Boston,
and
so
there's
such
a
power
imbalance
between
tenants
and
landlords,
and
so
any
way
that
we
can
intervene
in
that
relationship
is
incredibly
important.
H
I
was
just
Sunday
night
at
the
home
of
a
constituent
in
High
Park,
who
received
a
notice
to
quit
and
met
and
believe
that
that
meant
that
they
had
to
leave,
and
so
often
people
don't
know
and
aren't
aware
of
their
rights.
As
someone
who
started
my
legal
career
in
Housing
Court
as
a
housing
attorney
with
the
Harvard
legal
aid
Bureau,
it
is
oftentimes
not
even
enough
to
have
we.
There
aren't
enough
lawyers
in
the
courtroom
to
really
deal
with
the
power
imbalances
that
exist
and
I,
see.
H
All
of
the
all
of
the
ways
in
which
people
are
discriminated
against
in
our
system,
and
we
know
that
it
disproportionately
affects
women
and
women
of
color
with
children
and
so
making
sure
that
we
know
and
that
people
know
that
these
leases
that
they
get
are
negotiable
documents.
I
have
never
signed
a
lease
that
I
have
not
negotiated,
and
that's
easy
for
easier
for
me
because
I'm,
a
lawyer
but
I.
H
Also
let
people
I
know
that
you
never
sign
a
lease
that
you
don't
negotiate,
that
you
can
Redline
a
lease
that
you
can
cross
things
out,
that
you
can
write
words
in
and
I
think
that
we
just
need
to
do
a
better
job
of
letting
people
know
of
of
their
rights
and
empowering
people
still
even
times
with
my
guidance.
Folks,
don't
feel
like
they
are.
H
I'm
happy
to
be
here
to
be
part
of
this
discussion
for
my
constituents
for
the
residents
of
Boston
for
everyone
who
has
needed
a
lawyer
and
hasn't
found
a
lawyer,
and
anyone
who
has
you
know
had
their
housing
really
in
Jeopardy
when
they
could
have
saved
it.
And
so
it's
important
for
us
to
be
talking
about
how
we
can
Empower
our
renters.
Thank
you
to
the
administration
for
being
here
to
consolata,
for
for
this
hearing
and
to
my
Council
colleagues
for
being
here
and
doing
this
work.
G
G
Sometimes
it's
enough
to
put
a
down
payment
on
a
mortgage
just
to
be
able
to
move
into
any
place
and
then,
when
it's
time
to
move
out
there,
there
are
sometimes
some
discrepancies
in
terms
of
how
much
money
you
get
back
on
your
security,
if
at
all
so
I'm
curious
as
we're
thinking
about
this
Bill
of
Rights,
you
know
right
now:
I
I've
had
folks
who
have
reached
out
to
our
office.
You
know
in
need
of
like
seven
thousand
dollars,
just
to
be
able
to
move
in
to
an
apartment
and
I'm
curious.
G
What,
if
any,
you
know,
as
we
continue
to
have
these
conversations,
what
opportunities
does
it
exist
if
any
to
help
alleviate
the
financial
stressors
that
involve
even
getting
into
an
apartment?
As
we
talk
about
Bill
of
Rights
I
know
we
can't
play
with
people's
money,
but
we're
here
We
can
brainstorm
to
figure
out
what
that
may.
Potentially,
look
like
and
I'm
just
curious
what,
if
any
ideas
you
might
want
to
share
in
regards
to
those
move-in
costs,
foreign.
E
Thank
you
for
your
question.
Counselor
our
office,
the
office
of
housing
stability,
does
have
a
financial
assistance
program
that
we
provide
that
resource
to
constituents
who
are
looking
for
moving
costs.
We
obviously
want
to
make
sure
that
there's
a
sustainability
component
and
I
think
the
the
conversation
throughout
has
been
having
a
conversation
with
the
landlord
and
feeling
the
agency
to
be
able
to
say,
I.
Don't
think
this
fee
is
appropriate.
Can
we
narrow
down
this
number
to
five
thousand
dollars,
as
opposed
to
seven
thousand
dollars
and
I?
E
Think
to
to
councilor
lucian's
point
a
lot
of
tenants,
don't
know
that
they
can
actually
negotiate,
and
one
thing
that
my
office
tries
to
do
is
have
those
conversations
with
both
tenant
and
landlord.
To
say,
I
know
this
is
a
symbiotic
relationship
of
sorts
and
that
you
need
payment
and
that
the
tenant
needs
a
place
to
live,
but
that
doesn't
mean
that
you
have
to
make
the
com
make
the
tenant
completely
broke
in
order
to
move
in
and
sustain
housing.
E
So
we
provide
that
resource,
but
also
want
to
make
sure
that
we
Empower
our
tenants
to
have
conversations
going
forward
and
also
make
them
aware
of
other
Provisions
that
are
actually
baked
in
the
law
of
chapter
93a,
which
precludes
unfair
and
deceptive
practices
by
a
landlord,
given
that
they
are
essentially
a
business
owner.
So
making
sure
that
tenants
understand
that
in
plain
language
and
not
in
the
legalese
that
is
chapter
93a.
So
that's
one
provision
or
one
resource
that
we
try
to
provide.
G
Can
you
envision
a
world
and
how
we're
able
to
hold
ourselves
accountable
to
this
Bill
of
Rights
once
it
gets
implemented,
and
you
know
codified
into
law
like
what
type
of
mechanisms
are?
Can
you
envision
or
are
you
seen
in
other
spaces
that
have
been
used
to
help
hold
landlords
accountable
to
a
document
like
this.
D
D
D
I
E
Violation
of
that
would
be
a
300,
fine
and
I
think
in
tandem
with
working
with
the
office
of
fair
housing,
nothing
gets
your
attention
more
than
a
300
fine,
so
I
think
figuring
out
ways
that
we
can
actually
make
landlords
a
little
more
accountable
in
terms
of
the
practices
that
they
are
engaging
in
would
be
helpful
in
terms
of
making
sure
that
we
are
in
compliance
with
with
the
Bill
of
Rights.
No.
G
You
know
all
of
those
things
that
there
should
be
a
level
of
like
putting
some
metrics
in
place
for
taxing
people
for
their
neglect.
I
know
that
sounds
crazy
and
this
probably
will
go
viral,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
there
needs
to
be
some
accountability
here,
because
otherwise
people
are
just
going
to
keep
showing
up
in
ways
that
are
incredibly
dismissive
to
renters.
So
I
I
think
that
you
know
as
hard
as
we
can
go
to
help
support
our
renters
I
am
here
for
all
of
that.
Thank
you.
H
You
I'm
just
thinking
a
bit
about
what
director
Terrell
what
you
said
about
lawyers.
You
know,
unfortunately,
not
all
law
firms
have
the
requirement
that
folks
perform
pro
bono
hours
right.
That
should
be
a
standardized
requirement
to
make
sure
that
we
are
getting
their
time
to
do
work
on
behalf
of
the
people,
but
that
would
be
a
good
thing.
H
I
know
that
the
office
of
housing
stability
is
it
every
week
or
every
other
week
that
there's
a
clinic
where
we
there's
free
legal
assistance
for
both
landlords,
small
small
time
landlords
and
tenants.
If
you
could
talk
a
little
bit
more
about
what
that
looks
like
how
that
staff
is
it
under
resourced?
Do
you
feel
like
it's
it's
efficient
in
in
helping
tenants
get
access
the
kind
of
access
they
need?
Where
are
the
gaps
there.
E
Sure,
thank
you
for
your
question.
Counselor,
so
you're
correct.
Our
Legal
Clinic
runs
every
week
every
Tuesday
from
5
30
to
7.
it's
virtual.
Currently,
we
work
with
attorneys
from
Greater
Boston
Legal
Services.
We
currently
have
two
attorneys
that
join
the
clinic
and
then
we
also
have
a
mediator
that
joins
us
from
just
to
start,
which
is
a
mediation
company
out
of
Cambridge
who
we
contract
with
through
the
city
and
they're
able
to
have
conversations
with
landlords.
I
E
It
can
take
a
lot
of
time,
as
opposed
to
just
sitting
down
with
a
neutral
party
and
having
a
conversation
in
terms
of
Staffing
and
resources.
We
could
always
use
more
resources,
but
I
do
think,
given
the
turnout
that
we
have
amongst
different
neighborhoods
and
constituents.
We
are
doing
pretty
well
with
the
clinic,
but
I
would
welcome
different
ideas
from
the
council
and
my
co-panelists
of
how
we
could
better
reach
other
constituents
who
may
not
have
the
digital
access
through
the
virtual
format.
E
H
E
Sure
I
think
constituents
who
have
better
access
to
Internet
are
contacting
us
a
little
bit
more
more
tenants
who
are
a
little
more
affluent
than
others.
So
we
get
a
lot
of
tenants
from
counselor
Braden's
District,
so
trying
to
figure
out
how
we
can
narrow
our
scope
a
little
bit
more
to
other
areas.
Mattapan
Dorchester
Roxbury,
where
we're
actually
seeing
the
highest
eviction
rates
in
the
in
the.
E
Have
not
had
any
language
barrier
issues,
but
we
do
have
accessibility
to
interpreters
if
needed.
We
have
Haitian
Creole
speaking
staff.
We
have
Spanish
speaking
staff,
we
have
Cape
Verdean
speaking
staff,
so
we
have
that
access,
but
we
haven't
had
constituents
who
have
signed
up
and
said:
I
need
this
type
of
interpreter.
So
there's
also
that
Gap
as
well
yeah.
H
That
I
didn't
think
anybody
would
come
to,
because
we
were
on
Morton
Street
right
up
right
at
Morton
across
from
Dunkin
Donuts.
But
a
lot
of
people
were
coming
through
because
it
was
right
in
a
high
traffic
area
that
black
and
brown
folk
use
every
day
right
and
I.
Think
even
if
you
do
some
of
those
initially,
it
doesn't
have
to
be
consistent.
I
mean
it
doesn't
have
to
be
the
plan
forever,
but
at
least
popping
up
in
those
areas
so
that
people
can
can
memorialize
somewhere
in
their
brain.
H
That
oh,
this
is
a
service
that
exists.
Maybe
it's
not
always
here,
but
I
saw
this
one
time
so
I
encourage
that,
like
going
out
in
community
and
having
pop-ups
there,
because
I
think
that
would
be
incredibly
helpful
to
letting
people
know
and
then
the
fight
about
resources
and
getting
more
assistance.
I
think
we
fight
that
fight,
and
then
we
do
the
work
that
bought
that
director
Terrell
is
talking
about
and
get
all
of
the
wealthy
firms.
H
All
the
folks
who
are
here
with
their
resources
to
be
able
to
get
their
lawyers
once
we
show
that
there's
an
increasing
need
right.
People
are
chapter,
257
is
about
to
come
to
an
end
and
everyone's
up
in
arms
as
they
should
be,
and
there
are
other
things
that
we
should
be
doing
with
all
of
the
wealth
and
resources
that
we
have
all
the
lawyers
all
of
the
attorneys
in
this
city.
So
it's
a
travesty
that
chapter
2257.
H
Is
it
going
to
end
and
there's
more
work
that
we
can
be
doing
with
access
to
council
Coalition
that
I
know
the
city
of
Boston
is
a
part
of
and
more
ways
that
we
can
really
meet.
People
where
they're
at
and
I
think
that's
really
important
when
we're
talking
about
people
who
are
facing
housing
and
stability,
kids,
whose
educations
will
be
disrupted
as
a
result
of
evictions
and
so
I
just
encourage
that
we
we
root
ourselves
in
community.
Thank
you.
A
Yeah
and
so
I'm,
going
to
start
with
my
first
round
of
questions,
I
want
to
say
two
things
just
to
help
us
really
anchor
the
conversation
that
we're
having
today
there
are
rights
that
tenants
currently
have.
There
are
rights
that
are
afforded
to
them
by
the
state.
There
are
rights
that
are
afforded
to
them
by
the
city,
and
there
are
multiple
ways
based
on
the
conversations
that
we've
been
having
so
far,
that
we
can
strengthen
them
and
increase
access
to
the
rights
that
people
have.
So
that
is
step
one.
What
already
exists?
A
A
Where
do
we
go
from
here?
What
is
the
world
that
we
want
to
imagine
for
our
renters
and
for
our
tenants?
What
does
it
mean?
What
does
it
look
like?
How
do
we
ensure
that
people
who
are
renters,
which
is
the
majority
of
the
people
in
the
city
of
Boston,
have
a
dignified
experience
when
they
are
looking
for
housing
coming
to
agreements
about
housing,
making
complaints
about
housing
and
living
in
housing
in
the
city
of
Boston,
so
I?
A
You
know
we
have
had
a
number
of
conversations
here
on
the
city
council
about
how
we
can
protect
tenants.
How
can
we
improve
quality
of
Housing
and
what
I
would
like
to
hear
from
anybody
who
is
willing
and
I
have
a
list
of
other
questions
as
well?
But
anybody
who's
willing
to
share
here
is
what
is
missing.
A
D
I
think
all
too
often
when
we
talk
about
housing
in
any
context,
affordable,
and
otherwise
we
really
talk
about
housing
as
a
commodity
to
be
bought
and
sold.
We
think
of
it
as
a
commodity
within
a
free
market
system,
competitive
system,
but
for
most
folks,
housing
is
not
seen
as
an
investment.
It's
seen
as
a
home,
I
think
there's
a
difference
between
having
a
home
and
having
a
piece
of
Real,
Estate
I
think
the
those
are
two
very
different
concepts.
D
D
At
some
point
in
time.
We're
going
to
have
to
decide
whether
all
of
the
housing
in
our
city
is
subject
to
those
kind
of
Market
forces
and
whether
or
not
a
portion
of
our
housing
market
should
be
taken
off
the
speculative
Market
entirely,
and
it's
seen
as
a
public
resource
even
better
than
that.
A
human
resource.
D
D
But
if
you
don't
or
you
can't
or
you
feel
that
you
shouldn't,
then
there
should
be
another
portion
of
the
housing
market.
That's
set
aside
for
people
who
simply
want
a
home
and
a
place
to
live
and
not
a
vehicle
for
investment,
and
you
can
choose
which,
which
way
you
want
to
go,
and
you
don't
have
to
stay
in
either
one
permanently.
You
can
go
back
and
forth
if
you
wish,
depending
on
your
circumstances
now.
This
is
not
a
completely
theoretical
proposition
in
my
neighborhood
Dudley
Street
neighborhood
initiative
on
their
land.
D
E
F
So
I
have
a
couple
of
thoughts
and
I
hate
to
tip
to
the
looking
at
the
state
level
as
well,
but
just
I'm
thinking
of
counselor
me
here.
Your
comments
on
some
of
the
upfront
costs
and
I
do
think
that
we
have
an
issue
with
real
estate
brokers
in
terms
of
both
the
fees
that
are
assessed
as
well
as
it's
very
difficult
to
take
action.
If
someone
has
engaged
in
discriminatory
practices
and
they're
a
broker.
F
So
there
has
been
some
efforts
to
address
that
and
I
think
that
that's
something
that
deserves
a
lot
more
attention,
both
on
The
Upfront
costs,
which
I
think
may
be
Superfluous
and
ensuring
people
are
behaving
equitably,
behaving
equitably
and
I.
It's
it's.
It
does
relate
directly
to
the
BHA
actually
because
one
of
the
primary
constituencies
that
does
get
discriminated
against
the
Section
8
voucher
holders
who
do
have
a
on
in
Massachusetts
and
in
some
states
they
are
protected
under
Fair,
Housing
law.
F
A
E
That's
that's
a
great
segue
joke,
because
I
was
going
to
make
a
comment
around
getting
the
Judiciary
involved
as
well.
There's
a
mass
access,
just
access
to
Justice
Commission
that
focuses
on
these
very
issues
of
access
who
who
has
and
and
who
does
not
so
I,
think
focusing
when
you
when
you're
asking
what's
missing,
and
that
goes
to
counselor
Illusions
response
regarding
who
are
we
accessing
and
who
are
we
not?
Who
figuring
out
that
piece
of
you
know:
I
I
live
in
your
your
District
Council
Laura
in
in
West
Roxbury.
E
There
may
be
less
access
issues
there
as
opposed
to
in
Mattapan
or
Dorchester,
but
the
access
may
be
different.
There
may
be
folks
in
West
Roxbury
who
don't
have
the
digital
access
or
the
digital
Acuity,
as
opposed
to
other
neighborhoods,
so
understanding
the
access
points
and
figuring
out
how
we
can
connect
with
folks
that
way.
A
Thank
you
so
much
and
I'm
glad
now
that
you've
confirmed
that
you
live
in
my
district.
We
were
on
the
panel
conference.
Every
panelist
was
a
district
's
resident.
All
of
the
panelists
were
District
Six
residents
I
know
I.
It
was
but
completely
by
chance.
They
all
introduced
themselves
and
they
were
like
and
happy
to
be
here
with
my
counselor,
everybody
lived
there.
There
was
four
of
us
and
everybody
was
a
district
six
resident,
so
I
thought
that
was
funny.
A
First
of
all,
there's
discrimination
when
you're
looking
for
housing
I
cannot
ex
I
cannot
tell
you
how
many
times
somebody
sends
me
a
screenshot
of
a
Craigslist
post.
That
is
like
no
lawyers,
no
so
on
and
so
forth,
and
so,
when
I
I'm
not
sure
what
our
Avenue
is
right
to
kind
of
like
hold
those
kinds
of
people
accountable
to
where
we
are,
but
there
is
already
housing
discrimination,
that's
happening.
People's
rights
are
being
violated
while
they
are
looking
for
housing
before
they
even
find
an
apartment.
A
A
A
So
in
addition
to
that
and
I
think
that
this
is
the
comment-
and
this
is
one
of
the
things
that
we've
been
thinking
about-
is
that
we
have
a
common
applications
for
colleges
and
universities.
What
would
it
look
like
to
have
a
common
release
for
the
city
of
Boston
that
really
outlined
at
the
beginning
of
the
list?
A
What
your
rights
are
as
tenants
before
you've
read
our
beliefs
right
first,
two
pages
are
actually
all
of
the
rights
that
are
afforded
to
you
as
a
tenant
in
this
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
then
the
lease.
The
reason
why
I
bring
that
up
is
because
you
know
we've
talked
about
legalese
often
right
and
how
inaccessible
some
of
the
languages.
If
you
are
a
Communications
person
that
you
know
that
if
you
want
accessible
language,
you
need
it
needs
to
be
ran
on
eighth
grade
level.
A
That
is
not
at
all
what
we
see
in
the
leases
that
come
on
here,
and
so
we
are
not
even
requiring
that
the
language
that
is
on
the
lease
is
accessible
and
understandable
to
the
person
that
is
rented.
So
there
are
some
things
there
in
the
process
for
requiring
people
the
leases.
Now
the
question
the
next
question
that
I
have
is
for
you
Mr
wall,
because
BHA
is
BHA,
manages
all
of
their
properties.
I
I
A
I
I
I've,
also
some
of
the
issues
are
with
the
management
companies
right.
So
it's
not
always
with
the
leads.
We're
talking
about
the
management
companies
and
how
they're
overstepping
I
have
I
have
heard
complaints
from
people
who
live
in
public
housing,
where
the
management
company
has
told
them
that
they
are
not
allowed
to
ride
their
bike
outside
of
their
building.
That
is
a
violation
of
their
lease
Trinity.
F
So
so
I
and
I'd
love
to
just
do
a
brief
clarification
on
that.
So
there's
we
have
public
housing,
we
own
the
building,
we
own
the
land,
we
manage
it.
We
have
public
housing,
we
own
the
building,
we
own
the
land,
it
has
a
private
management.
Yes,
then
we
have
redeveloped
properties,
it's
affordable
at
the
same
rental
level
to
to
the
same.
F
To
for,
however,
many
public
housing
units
were
there,
it's
a
private
owner
and
we
own
the
land
and
the
tenants
rights
in
that
case
are
asserted
through
the
ground
lease
that
we
have
with
the
private
owner.
So
there's
the
redevelop
scenario.
So
the
point
at
which
we
capture
where
BHA
is
not
the
owner
of
the
building,
is
during
the
designation
of
the
developer
and
sort
of
the
Redevelopment
process
that
follows
and
that's
something
where
we
worked
recently
with
Greater
Boston,
Legal,
Services
and
City
Life,
and
some
other
parties
Health
Resources
in
action.
F
I
think
fun
of
this
to
try
to
kind
of
come
up
with
concepts
for
tenants,
rights
and
public
housing
Redevelopment.
So
that
I
think
is
a
recent
Evolution
which
is
not
dismissing
the
individual
issue.
I.
Just
mean
that
there's
been
some
progress
there
and
there
are
opportunities
to
intervene
kind
of
at
the
point
if
a
property
is
being
redeveloped.
F
F
A
A
E
There
we
go
okay,
I
know
for
us
during
our
Legal
Clinic.
That's
one
thing
that
we
have
a
section
on
of.
If
there
are
a
host
of
tenants
that
are
coming
from
One
Singular
building,
we
put
them
in
a
room
and
have
them
have
a
conversation,
and
let
them
know
that
you
have
a
right
to
organize.
We
also
work
with
City
Life,
Beta
Urbana
as
well,
and
send
constituents
there
again
if
there's
commonality
of
complaints,
but
outside
of
that
there
is
no
uniform
here.
A
And
so
the
right
to
organize
is
one
of
the
things
that's
already
afforded
to
them,
but
it's
not
being
communicated
so
people
don't
know
about
it
and
also
it's
not
I,
don't
think
at
least
as
being
properly
resourced,
not
only
within
the
city,
but
how
we're
resourcing
community-based
organizations
who
are
organizing
tenants,
unions
as
well
so
there's
a
gap
there.
So
I'm
gonna
stop
because
I
have
a
few
other
questions,
but
I
want
to
do
a
final
round
before
we
move
on
to
the
next
panel,
so
counselor
Braden,
you
have
the
floor.
J
C
So
I
think
that's
another
moving
piece
that
we
that's
another
piece
of
the
puzzle
that
we
have
to
sort
of
address
with
regard
to
broker
fees
and
don't
pay
deposits
and
security
security
deposits
and
and
they're,
knowing
how
and
and
knowing
that
it's
in
an
escrow
and
that
you're
entitled
to
get
the
entry
the
interest
on
not
that
there's
much
interest,
but
there
hasn't
been
much
interest
on
these
accounts,
but
that
you're
entitled
to
get
a
a
statement
of
the
interest
Etc.
So
many
of
our
tenants
don't
have
don't
have
that
understanding.
C
C
C
That
idea
of
being
able
to
contact
the
owner
of
your
building
and
make
a
direct
complaint
is
another
part
of
the
puzzle,
because,
even
as
as
representatives
of
our
constituents,
we're
trying
to
follow
this
find
find
the
owner
trying
to
get
something
addressed,
and
it's
been
really
really
challenging
and
I.
Don't
know
if
you
have
any
any
solutions.
I
think
this
is
a
again
an
issue
at
the
state
level
we
have
to
sort
of
take
the
take
the
curtain
away
from
who,
who
are
these
people?
C
I
C
Property
is
not
an
ATM
to
just
generate
profit
that
money
is,
is
is
taken
out
of
our
neighborhoods
and
goes
off
somewhere
else,
and
that
money
is
not
spent
in
our
neighborhood.
So
it's
detrimental
to
our
communities
at
large,
rather
than
and
and
and
some
money
making
profit
Enterprise
that
and
housing
shouldn't
should
be
a
public
good.
So
any
ideas
about
the
absentee
landlords
and
the
the
LLCs
that
we
have
no
idea
who
we
are.
D
D
E
I'm
done
I
was
going
going
to
agree,
but
I
I
think
the
point
is,
and
I
don't
want
to
sound
like
a
broken
record
is
access?
Do
many
tenants
know
that
they
can
look
on
the
Assessor's
website
that
they
can
go
to
the
Secretary
of
State
to
figure
out
who
the
the
owner
is
so
creating
something
where
and
I
I?
Don't
think
that
tenants
should
have
to
do
this
sort
of
scavenger
hunt
to
figure
out
who
their
landlord
is
but
equipping
them
with?
Okay,
the
landlord
is
M.I.A
at
the
moment
here.
E
Are
the
resources
go
to
the
Assessor's
website,
go
to
the
Secretary
of
State's
website
to
figure
out
okay?
Who
is
the
person
that
is
alleged
to
be
the
the
owner
of
this
property?
So
that
is
one
mechanism,
but
that
doesn't
resolve
the
issue
of
making
sure
that
tenants
know
exactly
who
they're
renting
to
and
to
your
point,
counselor
Braden,
that
this
isn't
a
money
market
that
we
should
be
able
to
have
these
conversations
with
actual
individuals
instead
of
a
LLC
or
an
email
address.
G
As
an
advocate
I,
remember,
working
with
a
woman
who
was
transitioning
out
of
DTA
and
I
was
doing
Workforce
Development,
but
I
ended
up
becoming
a
housing,
Advocate
and
I
felt,
like
Aaron
Brockovich,
trying
to
figure
out
how
I
helped
this
woman
I
didn't
even
know
where
to
begin
and
I
just
remember
how
vulnerable
and
how
scary
it
was
for
her
and
her
children
to
have
this
over
her
head
that
she
was
going
to
get
evicted
and
and
I
felt
powerless.
Even
though
I
was
an
advocate
and
I.
G
Think
that,
as
we
continue
to
have
these
conversations,
the
more
we
can
humanize
that
experience
as
how
people
are
going
through
this
process,
the
the
stronger
this
Bill
of
Rights
is
going
to
look
like
right
and
and
who
it
is
that
we're
here
to
serve.
So
that's
why
I'm
so
incredibly
encouraged
by
this
conversation,
I
I
think
that
one
of
the
things
that
if
I
remember
this
was
probably
like
12
years
ago.
G
G
F
So
we
absolutely
have
a
relationship
between
BHA
and
the
landlord
and
they
have
to
abide
by
that
contract
in
order
to
receive
rental
assistance
payments
we
have
limits
like
if
they
want
to.
You
know,
remove
a
tenant
from
their
property
and
make
the
tenant
from
their
property.
They
can
terminate
that
contract,
but
there
are
ways
in
which
the
projections
come
into
play.
So
one
issue
I
mentioned
was
inspections
right.
People
have
to
meet
not
just
the
city's
code,
but
the
standard
if
it's
Section
8
the
standards,
housing
quality
standards.
F
So
we
have
our
own
inspections
department,
there's
also
just
a
process
for
when
people
in
the
voucher
programs
request
rent
increases.
So
if
people
improperly
notice,
if
they
don't
work
with
BHA
or
they
improperly
notice
that
between
BHA
and
the
Tenant,
they
cannot
just
push
through
rent
increases.
So
there's
some
control
and
costs
through
that
vehicle.
F
We
have
a
relationship,
so
we
try
to
engage
if
we
get
appraised
of
other
things
that
would
destabilize
as
Heaven's
housing.
Sometimes
people
do
also
contact
us
wanting
they're
afraid
of
their
landlord
and
they
want
to
move,
and
we
don't
have
extensive
Housing
search.
Services,
it's
not
something
we're
particularly
funded
to
do,
but
we
do
try
to
work
with
OHS
in
particular,
and
some
of
their
vendors
when
that
happens.
So
there's
a
little
bit
of
what
are
the
rights
and
they're
they
exist,
but
they
have
limits
right.
F
G
Mutual
and
and
I
think
that
you
know
when
we
think
about
levers
and
we
think
about.
What's
you
know
tools
we
have
in
our
toolkit
I
think
that
if
so,
my
mom
was
a
a
mobile
voucher
holder
and
she
lived
in
the
same
Triple
Decker
for
I,
don't
know
decades,
but
every
year
during
recertification,
you
know
she
would
have
to
go
in
and
present
how
poor
she
was
so
that
she
can
continue
to
keep
her
voucher.
G
But
the
conditions
in
which
she
was
living
under
were
just
as
equally
as
poor
as
she
was,
and
you
know
the
landlord
was
asked
to
exterminate,
because
we,
you
know
only
was
a
roach
infest.
You
know
there
was
roaches
and
and
mice,
and
it
was
crazy
how
many
different
little
mice
traps
we
had
to
put
around
the
house
and
how
many
mice
we
killed.
G
But
we
still
lived
under
those
conditions
right.
So
I
do
think
that,
as
we
think
about
rights
and
as
we
think
about
quality
of
life,
that
there
is
a
role
that
BHA
can
play
in
helping
to
strengthen
some
of
these
conditions
that
people
are
living
in
because
you
get
what
you
get
and
you
don't
get
upset
and
that's
the
type
of
condition
that
I
grew
up
in
and
I.
Think
that,
as
as
we
continue,
because
we
are
also
in
many
ways
a
lot
of
these
landlords.
G
Don't
even
live
in
the
city
of
Boston
or
even
in
the
state
of
Massachusetts,
and
yet
they
are
profiting
out
of
BHA
vouchers.
You
know
and
they
are
driving
rental
costs
and
they
are
in
many
ways
getting
a
pass
in
how
they
treat
their
renters.
So
I'm
just
curious
as
it
relates
specifically
to
BHA.
What
are
some
of
the
ideas
that
you
can
share
with
us
in
terms
of
how
we
can
strengthen
the
Bill
of
Rights,
as
it
relates
to
landlords
who
have
PHA
residents.
F
Well,
I
think
so.
I
mentioned
voucher
discrimination
before
so.
That's
both
people
who
have
our
residents
and
also
people
who
refuse
to
rent
to
them
right.
So
that's
that's
one
of
the.
So
in
cases
like
you
know
your
family,
we
want
to
be
thinking
about
both
people
where
they
are
and
where
they're
looking
to
live.
I,
as
I
mentioned,
we
in
I
mean
the
follow-through
on
this
is
obviously
what
counts
but
inspections.
You
know
we
do
terminate
contracted
landlords
because
things
don't
meet
code.
F
The
issue
is,
we
don't
want
to
destabilize
tenants
either
right,
so
then
people
will,
if
I,
can't
provide
subsidy
to
that
unit.
Sometimes
people
they
don't
like
the
condition
of
their
unit,
but
they
want
to
stay
in
place
anyway
right.
So
we
try
to
be
really
careful
in
how
we
engage
there,
because
if
we
can,
if
we're
like
this
is
not
a
great
landlord,
their
house
is
not
up
to
code,
you
know,
so
we
can't
subsidize
you
it.
F
F
What's
the
standard
is,
but
we
just
want
to
be
careful
about
how
how,
over
what
period
of
time
we
work
with
people
so
that
we
can
get
repairs
done
at
the
properties
or
have
landlords
do
that
rather
or
if
it
really
is
necessary,
make
sure
people
have
the
opportunity
to
find
somewhere
else
right,
but
I
just
wanted
to
mention
too
right.
This
is
obviously
an
interactive
thing
with
ISD
who
is.
F
G
Thank
you
and
one
last
question,
and
it's
it's
more
about
kind
of
how
we
navigate
the
the
the
space
and
I'm
just
curious.
If
you
could
just
talk
to
us
a
little
bit
about
folks
who
are
who
call
ISD
or
who
are
trying
to
find
some
sort
of
reimbursement
for
the
medical
bills
that
they've
had
to
pay
because
of
the
conditions
that
they
were
living
in
right,
I'm,
curious
like
who
is
accountable
to
that
I've
had
some
families
who
have
stayed.
G
F
D
H
Director
Terrell,
there
are
two
things
I
wanted
to
mention
one
thank
you
for
bringing
up,
Dudley,
Street,
neighborhood
initiative,
I,
think
supporting
Community,
Land,
Trust
and
Alternatives.
That's
why
I'm
a
big
fan
of
the
city's
acquisition
opportunity
program
that
allows
us
to
take
some
of
that
housing
off
of
the
speculative
market
and
really
stabilize
tendencies
in
place.
So
I
want
to
thank
you
for
that.
H
You
also
mentioned
you
know
or
I,
think
you
would
when
we
were
talking
about
housing
discrimination,
especially
you
know
the
housing
discrimination
that
presents
itself
when
people
are
engaging
in
the
Housing
search
to
begin
with,
as
I
think
Mr
will
also
spoke
about.
We
talked
about
getting
more
testers
for
your
department,
which
is
crucial
in
both
the
rental
and
the
ownership
spaces.
H
I
hope
that-
and
you
know
hopefully
there's
space
for
this
in
the
budget-
to
not
only
hire
the
testers
but
to
also
do
a
public
awareness
campaign
around
the
fact
that
we
are
hiring
testers
to
put
landlords
and
Property
Owners
on
notice
that
this
is
something
that
the
city
is
watching
for,
so
that
we
don't
hire
the
testers,
silently
that
that
is
something
that
we
do
very
as
publicly
as
possible.
So
that
folks
know
that
this
is
an
issue
that
we
are
trying
to
root
out
and
address.
H
D
With
testing,
we
have
access
to
direct
evidence
which
makes
our
investigations
much
more
robust.
Much
more
detailed
and
I
am
convinced
that
some
of
the
cases
that
we've
had
where
a
lack
of
probable
cause
was
found
was
because
of
the
lack
of
direct
evidence
that
we
would
in
fact
be
finding
even
more
discrimination
if
we
had
access
to
that
kind
of
evidence
through
testing.
D
So
it
is
my
intention
and
I
hope
to
get
the
council
support
for
our
budget
going
forward
so
that
we
can
accomplish
this,
but
to
have
our
own
in-house
testing
program
so
that
every
complaint
that
comes
through
could
be
time
willing,
subject
to
testing
when
I
ran
the
fair
housing
center
of
greater
Boston.
That's
exactly
what
we
did.
D
We
pretty
much
tested
every
complaint
that
came
through
and
it
made
it
made
our
enforcement
of
the
fair
housing
act
and
other
civil
rights
laws
much
easier
to
do,
and
we
can
test
when
you
talk
about
sort
of
a
robust
recruitment
effort,
that's
absolutely
essential
in
Fair
Housing
testing,
because
we
test
for
all
protected
classes.
So
we
need
all
sorts
of
folks
in
our
testing
pool
because
we're
testing
for
everything.
H
H
You
talked
about
I
think
you
mentioned
that
realizing
I
think
you
highlighted
something.
That's
really
important
that
realizing
their
rights
tenants,
realizing
their
rights
can
be
the
really
difficult
part
there
has
to
be
an
access
and
enforcement
mechanism
to
them
to
attendance
being
able
to
to
realize
those
rights
so
curious.
H
If,
during
your
time,
at
BHA
or
your
time
here
on
the
council,
you
have
any
insights
into
what
the
city
itself
could
be
doing
better
to
help
tenants
realize
those
rights,
because
I
know
that
you
you
were
here.
Your
housing
was
was
a
major
part
of
your
portfolio
and
you
saw
from
the
constituent
Services
perspective,
but
wondering
where,
where
what
we
can
be
doing
better
from
City
Hall
in
terms
of
helping
tenants
realize
those
rights.
F
You
know
the
individual
I
worked
for
when
I
was
here
also
held.
This
role
and
I
have
tremendous
respect
for
what
office
of
housing
stability
does
and
I.
Think
that
you
know
you
had
asked
some
questions
about
other
ways
to
Resource
that
and
expand
it.
So
I'm
a
big
believer
in
meeting
people
where
they
are
so
I.
Don't
I,
don't
know
a
counselor
if
I'm
the
expert
on
this
issue.
J
F
We
provided
the
resource
to
whomever
would
be
doing
that
that
I
think
that
that
could
be
quite
helpful.
I
mean
and
I
do
I
do
think.
The
the
notification
act
that
various
I
think
generations
of
OHS
leaders
have
worked
on
has
been
really
important
and
it's
kind
of
a
way
of
innovating
a
little
bit,
because
where
we
have
a
limit
in
our
ability
to
regulate
to
municipally,
regulate
property
law
or
landlord
tenant
relations,
it's
attaching
information
to
it.
So
I
think.
F
H
Thank
you
Mr
wall
and
thank
you
to
everyone.
Thank
you.
Director,
Johnson
I
have
incredible
respect
for
the
amount
of
work
that
you
do
at
OHS,
so
that
question
was
meant
to
how
do
we
further
support
you
get
inundated
with
so
much
and
I
just
want
to
say.
Thank
you
because
I
know
you
work
around
the
clock
for
all
of
the
tenants
who
come
knocking
at
your
door,
who
need
help
with
rent
who
just
have
a
question,
and
we
also
send
them
your
way.
A
Thank
you,
councilor
regen,
and
so
for
one
moment,
I'm
actually
going
to
take
us
out
of
order.
We
have
some
public
testimony
that
is
going
to
be
leaving
us
at
12
p.m.
So
we
are
going
to
move
for
the
next
couple
of
minutes
to
public
testimony
and
we
have
Michael
wiper
and
Cassandra
Dimitri.
Is
that
correct,
beautiful?
So
right
here?
On
the
left
hand,
side,
there
is
a
microphone.
Please
introduce
yourself
for
the
record
right
yeah
this
one
in
the
podium
yep
right
here.
D
L
Good
morning
my
name
is
Michael
wiper
I'm,
a
member
of
Boston
College,
Legal
Services
civil
litigation
clinic,
and
we
specialize
in
one
area
in
housing
cases
and
I'm
here
today
to
support
the
renters
Bill
of
Rights.
A
universal
set
of
rental
rights
and
landlord
obligations
presents
opportunities
to
address
specific
problems
that
could
be
remedied
but
are
often
overlooked.
L
The
education
and
enforcement
of
these
rights
is
especially
critical
in
urban
areas
like
Boston,
where
proportionately,
more
people,
rent
and
housing
stock
is
limited.
Consequently,
landlords
have
enormous
leverage
for
renters.
This
fact,
combined
with
a
combined
with
the
lack
of
knowledge
of
their
rights,
can
lead
to
dire
consequences.
L
L
For
example,
Boston
College,
Legal
Services
recently
worked
with
a
client
and
her
two
young
children
who
are
actively
fleeing
domestic
violence
while
facing
an
eviction
due
to
the
client's
lack
of
knowledge
regarding
her
legal
rights
and
the
varied
locations
of
domestic
violence,
protections
and
state
law.
The
client
was
unaware
of
critical
protections
that
she
and
her
children
had
related
to
the
housing
matter,
namely
the
right
to
end
her
lease
without
repercussions
and
escape
the
ongoing
abuse.
L
As
a
result,
her
ability
to
flee
the
situation
was
greatly
and
unnecessarily
hindered.
My
partner
and
I
received
this
case
only
six
days
before
our
client
was
scheduled
for
an
eviction
trial.
However,
our
client
was
not
at
fault
for
this
last
minute
situation
until
mere
weeks
before
trial.
She
was
unaware
that
there
were
any
late
rental
payments
in
that
eviction.
L
Proceedings
have
been
filed,
her
former
partner,
who
was
also
her
co-tenant
co-defendant,
and
the
individual
carrying
out
physical,
emotional
and
financial
abuse
was
the
only
tenant
receiving
notice
from
the
landlord
regarding
late
rent
and
was
not
informing
our
client
of
the
proceedings
to
make
matters
worse
around
the
time
she
learned
of
the
suit.
The
domestic
violence
issues
escalated
to
the
point
that
she
obtained
a
restraining
order.
Nevertheless,
she
was
unsafe
and
sought
to
move
her
and
her
children
to
a
new
apartment
to
gain
security.
L
Ultimately,
our
involvement
was
needed
for
the
client
to
learn
about
specific
protections
relating
to
individuals
fleeing
domestic
violence.
Only
at
this
point,
the
client
learned
of
and
exercised
her
rights
allowing
for
their
case
to
be
dismissed
and
all
back
rent
forgiven
for
her.
However,
renters
should
not
need
a
lawyer
to
know
and
exercise
their
rights.
L
L
First,
our
client
was
not
aware
that
she
had
a
right
to
break
her,
at
least
as
a
victim
of
domestic
violence.
This
knowledge
could
have
enabled
her
to
get
out
of
the
lease
and
out
of
the
apartment,
much
earlier
on,
perhaps
before
the
suit
was
even
filed
later
on
exercising
this
right
was
critical,
as
we
were
only
able
to
obtain
dismissal
due
to
the
successful
breaking
of
her
lose.
L
Furthermore,
the
public
nature
of
eviction
matters
is
tremendously
harmful
to
the
health
and
safety
of
tenants,
as
it
makes
it
more
difficult
to
secure
housing
moving
forward.
It
is
often
unfair
as
circumstances
outside
the
renter's
control,
as
in
our
clients
case,
resulted
in
the
initiation
of
many
housing
proceedings.
M
Thank
you,
chairperson
Lara.
My
name
is
Cassandra
Dimitri
I'm
a
second
year
law
student
at
Boston,
College,
Law,
School
officer
ring,
is
an
SJC
rural
303
student
attorney
in
my
work
as
a
student
attorney
in
the
civil
litigation,
Clinic
I've
had
the
opportunity
to
represent
and
counsel
vulnerable
clients
facing
eviction
in
Boston
in
the
Commonwealth.
The
vast
majority
of
tenant
defendants
are
pro
se.
In
my
experience,
this
is
the
same
in
Boston,
since
there
is
no
right
to
counsel.
In
these
cases,
the
creation
of
a
renter's
Bill
of
Rights
is
even
more
important.
M
My
experience
is
advocating,
for
these
clients
have
revealed
a
vital
Gap
in
resources
for
understanding
and
assessing
a
renter's
rights
and
responsibilities.
Such
resources
are
limited
and
inaccessible,
leading
to
exploitation
and
mistreatment
by
Property
Owners
housing
security
is
tied
to
so
many
areas
of
an
individual
people's
life,
while
working
with
a
client
relating
to
a
family
law
matter,
I
learned
that
the
client
was
also
facing
eviction.
Not
only
were
the
eviction
claims
against
him
not
meritorious,
but
having
to
cope
with
the
prospect
of
losing
his
home
was
so
stressful.
M
It
upended
other
areas
of
his
life.
The
threat
of
eviction
interfered
with
productive
employment
and
active
parenting
to
his
minor
children.
While
he
knew
he
had
paid
his
rent
obligations,
he
was
unable
to
navigate
this
complicated
process
by
himself.
Speaking
to
my
client
days
before
the
summary
process
trial,
he
was
exasperated
and
could
not
even
think
about
his
job
or
children
until
after
the
eviction
proceedings
a
day
before
the
summary
process
trial
was
scheduled.
The
council
for
the
management
company
filed
a
voluntary
dismissal.
My
client
appeared
Pro
Se
in
this
matter
for
several
months.
M
Dealing
with
the
eviction
matter
was
so
confusing
and
time
consuming.
The
management
company
continued
to
overwhelm
my
already
distressed
client
with
threats
of
eviction
and
Court
appearances
all
only
when
he
had
to
take
obtained
counsel
did
they
evaluate
the
merits
of
his
case.
My
client
faced
a
vital
barrier
to
accessing
the
legal
rights
he
knew
he
had
as
a
tenant,
but
he
did
not
know
what
those
rights
were,
let
alone
how
to
access
information
about
those
rights
and,
as
a
result,
could
not
assert
them.
M
The
creation
of
a
renter's
Bill
of
Rights
would
fill
this
information
Gap
while
the
matter
has
been
resolved.
The
eviction
process
was
so
confusing
for
my
clients
and
he
did
not
have
the
tools
himself
to
make.
The
meritless
eviction
disappear.
The
opposing
Council
proposed
to
postpone
before
they
ultimately
dismissed
their
case.
The
landlord
would
have
continued
to
prolong
the
proceedings.
Continuing
the
confusion
and
powerlessness
of
the
tenant
climate.
In
my
one
semester
of
legal
advocacy,
I
have
seen
large
property
management
companies
take
advantage
of
powerless
tenants
without
legal
representation.
M
These
landlords
likely
would
have
succeeded
in
their
eviction
processes
leaving
vulnerable
families
without
access
to
safe
and
secure
housing.
This
year,
volume
of
renters
in
the
city
of
Boston
demands
further
Protections
in
the
form
of
a
renter's
Bill
of
Rights
I
urge
you
to
make
sure
that
65
percent
of
the
Boston
population
is
covered
by
the
proposed
renters
Bill
of
Rights,
a
comprehensive
and
accessible
legal
document
for
tenants
to
protect
themselves
without
securing
counsel.
A
Thank
you
so
much,
and
thank
you,
Michael
and
Cassandra
for
being
here
with
us
today
and
to
the
rest
of
the
BC
Legal
Services
lab
team.
I
have
two
questions
before
I
close
out
the
administration
panel.
One
of
them
is
what
is
the
most
common
violation
of
the
tenants
rights
that
you
see
either
in
your
office
or
complaints
that
are
coming
into
VHA.
E
I
would
say
the
most
common
violation
would
be
quiet
enjoyment,
surprisingly,
so
tenants
that
are
being
louder
than
other
tenants
or
for
some
tenants
who
have
disruptive
and
I
use.
Disruptive
in
air
quotes
children
not
knowing
that
the
child
may
have
disabilities
that
prevent
them
from
being
quiet.
During
a
certain
hour.
We
also
see
random
lease
violations,
fees
being
attached
that
aren't
use
and
occupancy,
so
couldn't
be
used
for
reasons
to
bring
a
non-payment
suit
against
the
tenant.
E
They
may
or
may
not
hold
up,
I
think
it's
it's
for
the
fact
finder.
Sometimes
it
ends
in
mediation,
which
can
be
great,
but
that
also
creates
its
own
set
of
issues
because
in
agreements
for
judgments,
you
have
a
lot
of
tenants
who
sign
not
knowing
what
rights
they're
giving
away
so
I
think
it
all
depends,
but
usually,
in
those
cases
they
end
in
agreements
for
judgment
in
the
court.
F
F
Then
it
could
be
in
violation,
okay,
yeah
yeah,
so
I
mean
we
engage
with
sort
of
a
range
of
basic
maintenance
issues
and
have
certainly
we
we
try
to
pursue
those
and
I
think
under
the
current
administrator,
there's
been
a
really
concerted
effort
to
fulfill
that
basic
requirement
of
you
know
safe
sanitary
housing,
and
when
we
hear
about
conditions
that
seem
to
fall
outside
of
that,
we
try
to
take
fairly
targeted
action.
So
I
think
that,
because
you
have
many
people
living
in
some
certain
properties
with
you
know
where.
F
If,
for
example,
if
there's
a
pest
issue,
we
hear
about
it
quite
a
lot,
and
so
we
we
work
pretty
actively
on
that
with
you
know,
by
bringing
in
contractors
to
address
the
issue,
we
have
that
as
a
on
a
running
basis.
Right,
so
those
are.
Those
are
some
basic
sort
of
as
a
landlord
things
we
hear
about.
We
certainly
hear
about
health
safety
issues
in
the
voucher
program.
Some
of
them
are
are
like
rodent
pest
issues.
F
I
would
I
would
need
to
look
to
see
what
the
most
common
is,
but
that's
certainly
one
that
people
face
and
again
we
we
have
permanent
inspections
basis.
We
we
work
on
that
with
with
the
tenant
and
the
property
owner,
I
I
think
we
also
I
just
wanted
to
know.
You
know
we
have
people
can
Avail
themselves
in
BHA
of
rights
that
they
have
within
our
process
and
then
they
can
go
to
external
agencies.
F
So
a
basic
right
that
tenants
sites
should
have
right
and
have
with
us,
is
like
some
some
grievance
airing
like
in
the
same
way.
You
know
if
a
well,
let
me
just
say
they
there's
certain
there's
certain
elements
where
they
they're
able
to
bring.
You
know
to
appeal
certain
decisions
to
bring
grievance,
and
that
is
done
so
that
they
can
have
their
sort
of
the
Departments
they
work
with.
F
In
that
particular
program,
public
housing
program,
Admissions
and
there's
another
department
that
can
look
at
it
that
adds
kind
of
a
layer
of
I
would
say
first
of
all,
second
lens.
Second,
all
the
level
of
civil
rights
protection
to
what
we
do
beyond
that.
They
then
could
Avail
themselves
of
outside
agencies
like
fair
housing
or
state
commission.
So
I
think
we've
tried
to
set
it
up
in
a
layered
way
over
time
over
the
history
of
agency,
so
that
we
can
do
as
much
as
possible
to
be
the
best.
A
E
F
A
Okay,
thank
you
so
much.
That
is
all
that
I
have
I'm,
really
grateful
for
you
all
hanging
in
there
with
us
today.
Of
course,
you
will
hear
more
from
me
and
other
counselors
and
our
office,
and
at
this
moment
we
are
going
to
let
you
go
back
to
doing
your
very
important
jobs
and
we're
going
to
move
on
to
our
next
panel.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
A
A
Great,
so
I
am
going
to
start
with
I'm
actually
going
to
go
in
the
order
that
I
called
you
all
in
so
we're
going
to
start
with
Mark,
then
Alex
and
then
Mary
is
that
okay
perfect?
So
each
of
you
have
five
minutes
to
give
your
remarks.
Please
state
your
name
and
affiliation
for
the
record
and
Mr
Martinez.
You
have
the
floor.
N
Thank
you
all
right.
Thank
you.
I
want
to
start
by
thanking
councilor
Lara
for
filing
this
ordinance
and
allowing
me
to
speak
today.
My
name
is
Mark
Martinez.
In
addition
to
being
a
Roxbury
resident
and
a
renter
I
am
also
a
housing
staff
attorney
at
the
Massachusetts
law
reform
Institute
in
this
role,
I
not
only
work
on
a
number
of
housing
policies,
I'm
also
in-house
in
court.
Providing
eviction
defense
to
unrepresented
tenants.
A
strong
tenant's
Bill
of
Rights
is
crucial,
is
a
crucial
tool
in
the
fight
for
housing.
N
Justice
and
I
want
to
Echo
some
of
the
comments
from
before
in
the
optimism
around
the
White
House's
recent
release
of
their
white
paper
on
attendance
Bill
of
Rights,
and
some
of
the
things
that
I'll
talk
about
today
will
overlap
with
that.
As
housing
costs
continue
to
rise
all
across
the
region.
The
power
imbalance
between
tenants
and
landlords
tips
more
and
more
in
favor
of
the
landlord
and
the
city
has
to
act
now.
N
The
level
that
power
imbalance
and
give
tenants
the
tools
and
protections
that
they
need
in
order
to
remain
safely
and
affordably
house.
It's
a
widely
held
belief
that
Massachusetts
is
a
tenant-friendly
state
and,
by
extension,
in
Boston
attendant
a
tenant
friendly
City.
While
we
do,
relatively
speaking,
have
more
protections
in
a
lot
of
places.
That
does
not
mean
that
we
do
not
have
a
lot
of
room
for
improvement,
and
it
doesn't
mean
that
we
do
not
lag
behind
other
cities
and
states
in
a
number
of
critical
areas.
N
One
of
those
areas
is,
of
course,
rent
control,
but
we've
already
had
that
conversation,
so
we're
going
to
talk
about
that
right
now,
and
this
also
goes
similarly
for
Just
Cause
eviction,
protections,
which
I
also
testified
on
during
the
rent
control
hearing.
So
I'll
save
that
for
now,
though,
I'm
of
course
happy
to
answer
any
questions
around
either
of
those.
In
addition
to
those
I
do
believe,
there
are
a
number
of
protections
and
rights
that
all
tenants
in
Boston
should
be
entitled
to.
All
tenants
should
have
a
right
to
safe
and
affordable
housing.
N
This
means
City
policies
that
promote
the
creation
and
preservation
of
affordable
housing.
This
also
means
access
to
rental
assistance
funds
to
help
families
keep
up
with
the
skyrocketing
cost
of
housing.
In
Boston
and
I
will
I
would
also
include
in
here
tenants
write
a
first
refusal
as
a
way
to
preserve
naturally
affordable
housing
in
the
city
of
Boston
and
to
some
of
the
comments
made
earlier.
This
also
means
limiting
The
Upfront
moving
costs
for
tenants,
including
limiting
Brokers
fees
or
making
it
so
following
the
lead
of
some
other
cities
making.
N
All
tenants
should
have
a
right
to
education
on
their
rights
and
the
ability
to
enforce
them.
This
means
right
to
counsel
eviction
proceedings.
Housing
court
is
not
a
tenant-friendly
place
and
Beyond
knowing
your
rights,
you
also
have
to
know
how
to
assert
them
with
the
correct
procedure
that
the
court
demands
or
you
risk
losing
rights
that
are
afforded
to
you
a
test,
that's
almost
impossible
without
the
assistance
of
an
attorney.
N
This
also
means
the
city
should
fund
know
your
rights
training,
so
tenants
are
actually
aware
of
the
protections
that
they
have
and
a
part
of
this,
as
already
discussed
I,
believe,
is
protecting
a
tenant's
right
to
organize
and
I've
got
lots
of
thoughts
on
that
as
well,
and
all
tenants
should
never
write
against
discrimination.
While
this
is
already
the
law,
steps
should
be
made
to
enhance
these
protections
and
stop
up
enforcement.
This
includes
source
of
income
discrimination
against
their
tenants
to
have
section
8
vouchers,
as
Mr
wool
talked
about
earlier.
N
Another
discrete
issue
is
the
issue
of
both
the
state
and
the
city
have
dedicated
lots
of
money
to
rental
assistance.
There's
no
requirement
currently
that
landlords
actually
participate
in
that
process,
and
so,
even
though
things
like
raft
can
make
tenant
can
make
landlords
whole
and
pay
rental
or
rearges,
there's
no
requirement
that
landlords
participate
in
that
process.
N
This
also
means
not
discriminating
against
people
for
their
rental
history.
A
large
part
of
this
is
ensuring
a
right
to
eviction
sealing
which
is
talked
about
before.
Let
us
be
clear:
every
eviction
in
the
city
of
Boston
is
a
policy
failure,
and
while
we
figure
out
how
to
remedy
those
failures,
we
need
to
make
sure
that
tenants
who
have
struggled
to
keep
a
roof
over
their
head
are
not
further
penalized
with
an
eviction
record,
and
then
this
also
includes
strengthening
protections
for
victims
of
domestic
violence,
which
we've
already
had.
Testimony
on.
N
I
also
want
to
take
a
quick
moment
to
realize
the
special
situation
that
public
housing
tenants
find
themselves
in,
as
they
are
governed
by
a
different
set
of
rules.
When
it
comes
to
evictions,
I'm
not
going
to
pretend
to
be
an
expert
there
are
experts
on
that
I
would
recommend
connecting
with
the
mass
Union
of
public
housing
tenants
on
their
website.
Currently
already
existed
documents
they
have
put
forth,
which
would
be
a
Bill
of
Rights
for
public
housing.
Tenants,
so
I
would
definitely
recommend
that
I'm
gonna
wrap
up
here.
N
The
things
that
I've
mentioned
here
are
no
way
meant
to
be
an
exhaustive
list,
where
this
is
just
a
way
to
frame
the
conversation
around
renters
rights
and
to
begin
that
conversation,
a
conversation
I
look
forward
to
continue
to
have
so
I.
Thank
you
for
allowing
me
to
testify
and,
of
course,
welcome.
Any
questions
that
you
have
thank.
O
Hello,
thank
you
for
having
me
and
thank
you
for
sponsoring
this
hearing
order,
it's
great
to
be
back
in
City
Hall,
as
a
former
staffer
and
as
a
housing
rights
organizer
for
about
five
years
with
City
Life
I've
seen
the
worst
actors
in
in
this
space
I'm
talking
about
some
landlords
that
have
done
some
very
atrocious
things
like
locking
their
tenants
out
changing
the
locks
on
folks
like
suing
people
for
wanting
to
engage
in
collective
bargaining.
So.
O
I
I
just
want
to
first
of
all
ditto
on
everything.
My
friend
here
said:
there's
a
lot
of
things
that
have
already
been
talked
about:
tenant
right
of.
First
refusal,
tenant
access
to
legal
support,
which
are
all
great
and
there's
all
already
a
lot
of
things
that
the
city
is
doing
like
the
raft,
for
example.
But
the
main
issue
is
the
average
tenant
doesn't
know
about
it.
O
So
how
can
we
create
this
tenant
Bill
of
Rights
and
and
get
it
to
folks
in
the
in
the
easiest
way,
so
that
folks
know
what
their
rights
are
and
I
think
something
that
the
city
has
done
already
during
the
covid
emergency?
Was
they
required
landlords
to
send
a
notice
to
quit
not
only
to
the
tenant
but
to
the
city?
And
then
the
city
was
able
to
send
out
an
information
packet
to
that
tenant?
O
Seen
this
multiple
times
a
tenant
wishing
to
negotiate
with
their
landlord
on
a
rent
increase
or
something
like
that,
and
instead
the
landlord
sues
them.
So
there's
some
horrible
practices
going
on
and
and
that's
why
we
need
a
tenant
Bill
of
Rights,
because
there
are
these
Bad
actors
in
The,
the
housing
and
real
estate
industry.
O
O
So
we
need
to
find
solutions
to
stop
these
Bad
actors,
so
I
think
we
can
embed
certain
things
into
a
Bill
of
Rights
like
a
tenant.
First
refusal
that
was
mentioned,
like
protecting
collective
bargaining,
I,
have
tons
of
thoughts
to
add
to
this,
but
a
lot
of
it
was
previously
mentioned
for
for
points
I'm
just
trying
to
get
to.
How
can
we
actually
Implement
this,
and
how
can
we
deliver
it
to
folks,
so
I
think
continuing
that
practice
that
the
city
did
during
covid.
A
K
So
I
want
to
first
thank
you
for
inviting
me
to
speak
for
everyone.
I
am
a
tenant
organizer
with
the
great
Greater
Boston
Tenants
Union
I've
been
a
lifelong
resident
of
the
Boston
area
and
a
tenant
in
Boston
since
2016
an
attendant
organizer
since
2020
I
really
do
wish
that
I
could
say
that
I
became
a
tenant
organizer
out
of
like
the
goodness
of
my
heart,
but
I
really
became
a
tenant
organizer
out
of
necessity
for
my
own
health
and
safety.
K
So
in
2020,
after
four
months
of
trying
to
get
my
management
company,
which
at
the
time
was
Alpha
management
to
fix
some
basic
maintenance
issues
in
my
apartment
and
then
some
larger
maintenance
issues
in
my
apartment,
particularly
a
hole
in
my
floor
where
I
could
actually
see
outside
through
the
subfloor
I
tried
to
work
with
the
city.
I
tried
to
this
was
in
Medford,
but
similar
tenant
protections
to
here
I
tried
to
work
with
the
Attorney
General's
office
and
no
one
engaged
with
me.
There
was
nothing
that
anybody
could
do.
K
No
one
knew
what
to
do.
No
one
could
get
my
landlord
to
respond
eventually,
I
started
talking
to
my
neighbors
and
I
got
support
through
the
Greater
Boston
Tenants
Union
and
I
talked
to
all
of
my
neighbors
and
it
was
the
same
story:
broken
appliances,
mold
past
rats,
cockroaches
like
stuff
oozing
out
of
our
walls,
and
we
we
started
to
organize.
We
wrote
a
demand
letter
asking
for
better
living
conditions.
We
passed
out
flyers
with
reports
of
Alpha's
previous
history.
K
If
people
are
not
familiar,
Alpha
has
a
very
notorious
history
in
the
city,
particularly
Austin
Brighton,
and
through
months
of
organizing,
we
started
to
notice
small
changes.
The
trash
that
was
piled
up
barricading
our
fire
exits
was
removed,
the
hole
in
the
basement
floor
was
fixed,
an
entire
apartment
was
renovated,
and
then
we
we
spread
it
into
Alston
and
the
that's
where
Alpha
owns
the
majority
of
their
buildings
and
we
started
to
hear
stories,
we
were
compelled
to
take
a
firmer
stance
against
Alpha
and
to
exercise
our
rates
as
tenants
and
then
on.
K
April
17th
of
2021
I
was
given
a
cease
and
desist
letter
to
immediately
stop
all
organizing
they've
gotten
copies
of
all
of
the
materials
that
we
had
used
to
organize
and
were
threatening
to
sue
me
specifically,
and
they
were
saying
that
if
I
didn't
publicly
retract,
all
of
the
statements
I
had
made
that
they
would
take
myself
and
also
the
union
which
they
couldn't
actually
do.
So
it
was
just
me
to
court,
so
I
was
singled
out
and
scapegoated
for
the
negligence
of
my
own
landlord
I
called
the
attorney
general's
office.
K
K
Luckily,
the
Greater
Boston
Tenants
Union
helped
me
fundraise
and
we
got
all
of
those
lawyer.
Fees
covered
and
Alpha
dropped
the
lawsuit,
but
they
also
dropped
me.
They
stopped
answering
my
calls.
They
closed
my
like
online
portal,
so
I
could
no
longer
pay
my
rent
and
fully
ignored
me
and
forced
me
out
of
the
apartment.
K
So
earlier
in
the
meeting
someone
had
talked
about.
Let
me
find
exactly
where
I
am.
Someone
had
talked
about
wanting
tenants
to
really
like
stay
in
their
apartment
and
get
that
lawyer
and
not
make
the
decision
to
self-evict
like
I'm
a
person
I
have
a
job.
I
have
pets,
I
couldn't
stand
to
like
be
in
a
position
where
I
was
facing
eviction
and
I
I
had
to
leave
my
apartment,
because
I
could
no
longer
afford
to
continue
with
lawyer
fees
and
the
lawyers
that
I
had.
K
Tenants
who
speak
up
about
the
conditions
in
their
building
are
just
silently
pushed
out
along
to
other
landlords,
so
without
stronger
legislation
detailing
what
constitutes
retaliation.
Tenants
who
speak
up
for
better
living
conditions
will
continue
to
be
displaced
and
without
stronger
protections
for
follow-up
by
ISD
on
reported
code
violations,
low
income
and
minority
groups
will
continue
to
be
disproportionately
impacted
by
evictions
and
code
violations.
Your
income
should
not
dictate
the
safety
of
your
home
and
there
should
be
material
consequences
for
the
landlords
who
choose
to
profit
off
of
unsafe
living
conditions.
K
I
think
this
brings
up
the
the
need
for
right
to
counsel
so
Statewide
92
percent
of
tenants
are
on
unrepresented
and
eviction
actions
and
those
are
just
the
ones
that
make
it
to
court
and
not
the
people
who
are
forced
out,
because
they
can't
even
afford
a
lawyer
to
get
an
eviction
on
the
books
in
the
first
place
and
just
choose
to
leave
with
the
end
of
the
eviction
moratorium.
These
protections
become
even
more
important.
Michelle
Wu's,
rent
control
proposal
would
end
no
fault
evictions
and
that's
ultimately,
not
enough.
K
The
large
majority
of
evictions
are
filed
for
non-payment
of
rent
well
as
a
reform
to
Halt
the
displacement
associated
with
the
rising
rights
of
Boston
on
his
own.
Like
that's
a
it's
a
non-starter,
it's
not
doing
enough.
We
need
to
protect
the
tenants
who
are
here
who
work
here
who
live
here
and
who
are
part
of
this
community
and
I.
Am
a
supporter
of
attendance
Bill
of
Rights
but
I'm
hesitant
to
support
due
to
the
track
record
that
landlords
have
against
taking
sorry
landlords
have
to
take
any
steps
necessary
to
protect
their
own
Capital.
K
C
Obviously
something
really
does
need
to
need
to
be
done.
One
particular
I
don't
know
if
you
can
shed
some
light
on
the
issue
around
family
housing
because
in
Austin
Brighton,
so
much
of
our
housing,
our
family
homes
are
rented
to
Young
younger
single
folks.
Now
they
need
housing
too,
but
I
think
one
particular
concern
I
have
is
in
relation
to
across
the
city,
we're
seeing
a
decline
in
the
number
of
families.
C
We've
seen
our
population
of
school
students
falling
and
we're
not
actually
being
very
proactive
in
protecting
the
housing
rights
of
families,
because
if
it's
a
choice
between
getting
four
and
a
half
thousand
or
five
thousand
dollars
from
a
group
of
individual
single
individuals
for
your
for
your
unit,
that's
a
family
size
unit
and
a
family
who
can't
afford
that
I'm.
Just
wondering.
Are
you
doing
anything
in
that
space
as
well,
because
I
think
for
me
it's
it's
a
it's!
C
It's
critical
in
it's
the
protective
families
or
it
protects
a
class,
but
I
really
don't
think
that
there's
a
delaying
issue
and
there's
the
on
the
actual
they're
being
priced
out.
So
you
never
ever
get
to
a
challenge
on
discriminating
against
a
family,
because
the
family
can't
afford
the
price.
So
I
I'm
just
curious
about
that
in,
in
the
context
of
the
the
range
of
people
that
we're
trying
to
provide
safe
and
affordable
housing
for
in
the
city.
N
N
We
know
families
are
protected
class,
but
we
know
right,
like
landlords
are
smart
enough
right,
they're,
not
putting
no
kids
in
their
ads
anymore,
right,
they're,
coming
they're,
seeing
you
have
kids
and
all
of
a
sudden,
you
don't
get
a
phone
call
back,
and
so
it
does
become
a
really
hard
thing
to
prove
I.
Think.
Another
thing
is
when
we're
thinking
about
development
in
the
city
and
things
are
developing
in
developing
apartments
right
like
developing
apartments
that
are
designed
for
families.
Yeah
right,
you
can't
just
keep
on
having
these
developments.
N
That
are
just
two
and
three
bedrooms
right.
Those
might
work
for
some
families
and
for
some
smaller
families,
but
it
doesn't
work
for
a
two-parent
household,
with
three
kids
or
four
or
five
kids,
which
is
what
we
know
is
happening,
and
then
you
know
to
like
you
said
we
we
have
students
living
in
housing.
That
is
designed
for
families,
which
is
fine.
You
know
I
think,
to
a
certain
extent.
You
know
when
I
was
22
years
old
and
lived
in
the
city.
The
I
wanted
roommates.
That.
N
Right
and
one
I
needed
roommates
because
I
couldn't
afford
not
to
and
two
I
was
new
to
the
city.
Roommates
sounded
really
cool.
That
was
really
great
right
now,
I'm
30
years
old,
I'm
lucky
enough.
Now
that
I
live
alone,
which
is
what
I
want
to
be
doing
when
I
think
most
of
my
peers,
my
age
would
want
to,
but
it
right
it's
it's
not
an
affordable
thing,
and
so
we
aren't.
N
We
aren't
developing
housing,
that's
affordable
to
any
of
those
people
right,
we're
not
developing,
affordable
housing
for
individuals
that
want
to
live
alone,
whether
it
be
in
a
one
bedroom
or
a
studio,
we're
not
developing
housing,
one
that
is
simply
big
enough
for
families,
never
mind
affordable
to
families,
and
so
what
the
city
can
do.
I
mean
I
mean
it's
a
really
tricky
thing
right,
like
you
know,
the
Discrimination
stuff
obviously
comes
from
largely
from
the
federal
government
in
the
Fair
Housing
Act,
but
it
becomes
a
really
challenging
thing
to
do.
N
I
think
part
of
what
we
need
to
do
is
educating
people
on
the
right.
I
think
a
lot
of
people
a
lot
of
parents
with
children,
don't
realize
that
it
is
illegal
to
discriminate
against
them
and
so
I
think
a
lot
of
times.
They'll
self-select
themselves
out
of
Apartments
because,
like
well
I
know,
I
have
kids
and
nobody
wants
to
rent
to
somebody
with
a
bunch
of
kids,
and
so
a
large
part
of
this
is
education.
But
a
large
part
of
it
is
honestly
beyond
the
city.
O
I
wanted
to
thank
you
for
that
question
too.
In
my
experience
at
City
Life,
the
vast
majority
of
my
cases
were
families,
and
particularly
they
were
single
mothers
with
children.
So
it's
a
huge
issue
and
I
think
what
you
mentioned
around
landlords,
trying
to
maximize
their
profits
by
renting
out
rooms
rather
than
to
families,
explains
why
it's
a
possible
explanation
to
why
as
a
housing
rights
organizer,
we
saw
that
it
was
mostly
families
that
were
dealing
with
displacement.
O
So
that's
why
a
tenant
Bill
of
Rights
would
be
so
helpful
because
it
would
get
information
out
to
these
families
and
I
just
feel
bad
for
the
families
that
never
got
to
City
Life,
never
reached
our
doors
because
we
were
able
to
give
them
the
the
assistance
they
needed.
Point
them
to
Legal,
so
I
feel
bad
for
those
families
that
never
reached
us.
I
never
even
knew
that
these
resources
were
available
to
them
and
something
that
that
came
to
me
as
as
my
friend
here
was
mentioning
development.
O
O
No,
unless
you
give
more
unless
you
build
more
family
units,
so
I
don't
know
how
how
we
can
build
that
into
the
tenant
Bill
of
Rights,
but
I
do
see
that
as
an
issue
and
in
a
way
that
we
can
increase
more
development
for
families
is,
is
to
increase
more
participation
in
the
neighborhood
level
when
it
comes
to
development.
Thank.
K
You
I
do
also
just
want
to
add
to
this
like
there
is
not
a
housing
crisis.
There
is
not
a
lack
of
housing
crisis
when
we
talk
about
developments
that
the
issue
of
the
tenants
Bill
of
Rights.
This
is
about
a
this
is
a
landlord
issue,
and
this
is
about
like
fair
housing
and
accessibility
to
the
housing
that
does
exist.
K
K
When
I
was
living
in
a
larger
building,
it
was
all
one
bedroom
or
Studio
units.
It
was
mostly
families,
it
was
mostly
families.
Yeah
I
was
one
of
the
only
single
people
living
in
the
apartments,
the
people
next
door
to
me
that
had
three
children
in
a
one-bedroom
apartment
that
was
identical
to
mine.
That
I
did
not
feel
like
I
had
enough
room
in
for
my
own
space.
K
A
You
councilor
Braden,
so
thank
you
all
for
sharing
your
testimony.
A
couple
of
things.
There
are
rights
that
are
afforded
to
tenants
by
the
state.
Do
you
see
that
the
city
of
Boston,
exercising
all
of
its
own
power,
to
implement
to
further
bolster
I,
should
say
the
rights
of
tenants
here
in
the
city
of
Boston
in
the
power?
That's
with
the
power
that's
supported
to
us
through
our
ordinances.
N
It's
a
tough
question
right,
as
we
all
know
right.
We
exist
in
the
regime
of
home
rule
and
right.
So
there's
a
lot
of
stuff
that,
like
the
city
can't
just
unilaterally
do,
which
is
unfortunate
right
in
that
cities
can't
do
what
is
right
for
them
to
protect
their
own
tenants.
I
mean
I.
Think
a
couple
other
things
right
that
the
cities
have
done
right.
It's
right.
The
city
could
put
money
towards
access
to
council
right.
N
I,
don't
expect
the
city
to
completely
fund
the
right
to
council
program
in
the
city
of
Boston,
but
they're
going
to
absolutely
be
increased
funding
so
that
people
have
these
right
because
I
think,
ultimately,
what
it
comes
down
to
for
me
is.
We
can
have
all
of
the
rights
in
the
world
if
you
don't
know
what
they
are
and
know
how
to
assert
them.
It's
a
problem
or
if,
if
the,
if
your
landlord
has
the
power
and
leverage
over
you,
you
know
I,
it
is
not.
A
secret.
N
I
have
had
a
pretty
well
publicized
loss
of
housing
last
year
right
and
my
landlord
ultimately
did
some
things
that
I
probably
could
have
gone
to
court
and
defended
against
and
keep
in
mind
I'm
an
attorney
I'm,
far
better
suited
than
most
people
to
do
that.
But
what
I
also
knew
for
a
fact
was
that
I
could
do
this,
but
the
second
that
I
go
to
court
to
do
that.
I
have
an
eviction
on
my
record,
and
that
is
there
forever
and
there's
just
nothing
that
we
can
do
about
that.
N
And
so
even
someone
write
a
housing
attorney
best
positioned
knows
my
rights
knows
my
rights
better
than
most
people
knows
how
to
assert
them
better
than
most
people
right.
There
is
still
this
inherent
power
imbalance
that
happens.
You
know
another
example
being
I
had
a
friend
a
few
weeks
ago.
Text
me
that
you
know
they
needed
to
move
into
a
new
apartment.
Their
lease
was
ending
needed
to
move
into
a
new
one
and
the
landlord
was
charging
an
application
fee
and
he
was
like.
N
Isn't
this
illegal
and
I
said
yes
and
he
says,
but
I
need
housing.
So
what
do
I
do
right
so
yeah?
He
could
have
asserted
his
rights
and
said:
no.
You
can't
do
this.
This
is
illegal
I'm
not
going
to
pay
this.
You
probably
could
have
gone
to
court
got
some
damages,
but
in
the
meantime
he
wouldn't
have
housing
and
so
I
think
right.
N
The
unfortunate
truth
is
the
city
has
to
go
through
the
state
to
do
a
lot
of
things.
The
thing
that
the
city
can
do
is
make
people
aware
of
the
rights
they
currently
have
is
make
those
rights
accessible.
Is
Empower
tenants
to
organize,
as
we've
heard,
about
assert
their
own
rights
and
level
that
playing
field,
and
let
landlords
know
that
if
you
are
going
to
take
advantage
of
tenants,
the
city
is
going
to
come
down
on
the
side
of
the
tenant
right,
which
has
not
been
the
case.
N
It
is
not
the
way
that
people
feel
that
is
not
the
way
that
the
city,
the
state
or
any
other
body
has
done
the
courts,
and
so
it's
I
think
it's
imperative
that
tenants
know
that
the
city
is
on
their
side.
It's
even
more
imperative
that
landlords
know
right
landlords
do
what
they
get
will
continue
to
do
what
they
know
they
can
get
away
with.
A
Yeah-
and
it
seems
like
also
like
a
very
clear
and
well
funded
and
supported
reporting
mechanism,
because
I
feel
like
if
someone
knows
that
they're
not
allowed
to
be
charged
application
fees,
they
should
be,
they
should
be
able
to
see
the
application
fee
and
call
a
phone
number
and
say
this
person
at
this
thing.
Here's
the
link
to
this
apartment-
I,
am
being
you
know
their
their
violating
my
rights
as
attendance
or
they're
charging
more
and
then
the
city
should
be
able
to
take
action,
whether
it
be
contacting
them.
A
A
N
What
Mary,
Mary
right
so
talked
about
right,
the
retaliation
that
she
got
for
organizing
right,
one
of
the
things
that
mass
actually
does
have
one
of
the
laws
that
I
think
is
really
good
right.
We've
got
really
strong
anti-retaliation
laws
right
we've
got
there's
a
robot,
there's
a
presumption
in
law
that,
if
your
landlord
takes
any
type
of
detrimental
to
act
towards
you
within
six
months
of
you
doing
any
host
of
things,
reporting
things
at
ISD,
organize
right,
you're
entitled
to
three
months
of
rent
as
damages
and
lawyers
fees
and
more
right.
N
So
what
would
it
look
like
if,
when
Mary
went
through
what
she
went
through
instead
of
having
to
call
a
bunch
of
lawyers,
she
went
to
the
city
and
the
city
had
resources.
Maybe
if
it's
not
lawyers,
but
the
city's
saying
here
is
your
form
complete.
Here's
the
thing
we're
going
to
help
you
pre-fill
this
out,
go
to
the
court
file.
This
scare,
your
landlord,
because
right
the
law
is
clear
right.
There
are
things
that
the
city
could
be
doing
to
make
sure
that
people
are
available
or
it
can
Avail
themselves
of
currently
existing
rights.
A
N
I
mean
right,
that's
that's,
I
mean
I.
For
me,
right
in
my
work
as
a
housing
attorney
is
someone
that
is
in
court.
That
is
the
biggest
thing
right.
There's
knowing
your
rights,
but
I
think
the
thing
that
doesn't
get
talked
about
a
lot
is:
how
do
you
actually
assert
those
rights
in
a
court
of
law?
Right?
You
have
lots
of
you
do
right.
N
Obviously,
the
point
here
is:
we
need
a
lot
more
rights
in
Massachusetts,
but
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
there
are
still
some
solid
rights
in
Massachusetts,
but
one
of
the
things
that
people
don't
know
is
right.
There's
a
there's,
a
timeline
right.
You
have
to
assert
those
defenses
before
you
ever
make
into
court.
N
So
I
can't
tell
you
how
many
times
right,
I'm,
normally
in
court
on
Thursdays
I,
can't
tell
you
how
many
times
someone
has
come
up
to
me
in
court
and
said
here
are
the
pictures
of
the
roaches
in
my
apartment,
the
rats,
the
mold,
the
ceiling
tiles
falling
off.
This
is
my
defense.
This
is
why
I
haven't
paid
rent
I,
know
my
rights,
I'm,
gonna,
win
and
then
I
say
this
is
great
I'm,
so
happy
you
have
this.
Did
you
file
an
answer
right,
which
is
a
legal
document?
N
Did
you
file
this
answer
three
days
before
your
first
court
appearance
and
did
you
give
a
copy
to
your
landlord
and
they
say
no,
because
why
would
they
do
that?
No
one
knows
that.
That's
what
you
have
to
do
and,
depending
on
the
judge
that
you're
in
front
of
that
day,
some
judges
might
say:
okay,
fine
I'll
still
let
this
in,
but
it
is
well
within
the
rights
of
the
judge,
say
no
and
we've
seen
it
happen.
It
doesn't
mean
you
have
all
of
this
proof.
N
Your
apartment
is
falling
apart,
but
you
didn't
follow
this
very
specific,
opaque
legal
process.
So
now
I
don't
know
what
to
tell
you
you're
going
to
be
evicted
and
right.
There
are
things
that
this
right
leg
is
access
to
council
right,
just
having
a
lawyer
through
that
process
is
really
great,
but
there's
also
plenty
of
things
that
the
city
can
do
to
prepare
tenants
to
do
those
things
on
their
own
if
they
need
to
obviously
the
preference
that
they
don't
do
that
on
their
own.
A
A
Looking
for
housing,
your
rights
as
you're
negotiating
your
housing,
your
rights
once
you
are
living
and
a
tenant
inside
the
housing,
and
then
your
rights
after
you
either
close
out
your
lease
or
decide
not
to
renew
your
lease
and
move
out
right,
because
there
was
also
people
have
the
right
to
receive
their
security
deposit
back
right
and
the
things
that
they
can
charge.
You
for
are
very
clear,
and
the
timeline
by
which
you
have
to
receive
it
back
is
very
clear
and
that
very
seldom
happens
absolutely
and
so
like.
A
This
is
what
I
mean
right
like
again:
I'm
an
elected
official.
You
better
believe
that
at
the
60-day
Mark
I
sent
an
email
saying
you
are
in
violation
of
this
law.
You
have
30
days,
I
need
you
to
send
me
an
email
when
this
in
the
mail
now
yeah
right
like
so,
but
a
lot
of
people
don't
know
not
only
that
they
have
that
right.
K
Yeah
I
do
just
want
to
add
and
I
think
that
I
wanted
to
add
this
earlier.
But
then
you
had
said
this
as
well.
I
think
this
is
what
you're
saying
just
now
is
really
important
that
these
things
exist
like
this
right
already
exists,
and
you
know
it
to
get
your
security
deposit
back
and
you
are
attempting
to
exercise
it
unsuccessfully,
because
landlords
do
not
care
so
with
attendance,
Bill
of
Rights,
there
almost
needs
to
be
a
landlord's
bill
of
consequences
like
what
happens.
K
Actually
yeah,
but
it's
real
so
like
my
landlord
violated
my
rights,
but
it
wasn't
within
the
like
specific
documentation
that
it
should
have
been,
but
I
was
forced
out
of
my
apartment.
They
closed
my
account
I
had
all
the
proof
of
this
and
I
got
a
lawyer.
I
paid
a
lot
of
money
for
this
guy.
He
called
himself
a
movement
lawyer
and
He
was
largely
helpful,
but
he
said
you
know
what
I'm
sorry
there's
nothing.
We
can
do.
I
called
the
city,
they
said.
I
have
no
idea
what
to
do.
K
This
is
a
power
Dynamic
issue
and,
like
we
tenants
have
power
when
we
work
collaboratively
when
we
organize
together,
like
we
need
to
have
Collective,
organizing
and
the
protections
against
organizing,
because
the
landlords
have
organized
and
they
have
organized
with
the
state,
they
have
organized
with
the
federal
government
they
own
the
land
and
they
get
to
decide.
They
call
the
shots
and,
like
more,
has
to
be
done
to
hold
them
accountable.
Yes,.
O
There's
there's
a
legal
recourse
you
can
take
in
housing
court,
but
I
also
think
the
city
can
can
do
more
to
stop
these
Bad
actors
from
continuing
business
as
usual
landlords
that
are
displacing
folks
left
and
right,
giving
folks
giant
lawsuits.
They
should
not
be
able
to
continue
to
develop
as
easily
as
they
do
so.
I
think
I'm,
forgetting
exactly
what
it's
called.
But
there's
there's
been
places.
A
O
So,
basically,
when
a
landlord
wants
to
develop
in
a
new
area,
they
have
to
go
to
a
neighborhood
Council
and
show
their
proposals.
If
that
landlord
has
a
track
record
of
being
a
displacer
there's
an
Avenue
for
tenants
and
and
and
people
that
have
had
these
experience
to
come
and
say
no,
this
landlord
did
XYZ
I,
don't
think
they
should
be
allowed
to
get
these
variances
for
this
proposal
that
they
have
to
to
really
affect
them
where
it
hurts
like
like
they
like
we
mentioned
already
in
their
pockets.
A
What
do
you
think
is
the
heart,
like
the
the
challenge,
the
biggest
challenge
or
the
biggest
hurdle,
to
jump
through
to
organizing
tenants?
So
when
we
have
organizations
that
are
incredibly
skilled
at
it,
you
know
exactly
what
to
do
like
what
are
the
hurdles
to
making
sure
that
every
public
housing
development
in
BHA
has
a
tendency
Union
to
making
sure
that
every
jpndc
building,
Urban
Edge
building
right
like
what
are
the
hurdles
to
ensuring
that?
O
People
are
scared,
terrified,
okay,
they're,
afraid
of
retaliation,
I've
been
to
so
many
buildings,
knocking
on
doors
and
and
trying
to
start
tenants,
associations
and
there'll
be
times
where
I
it'll
be
a
building
that
hasn't
been
sold
yet,
and
we
we,
as
organizers,
can
see.
Look.
This
building
looks
like
a
good
purchase
opportunity.
We
met,
we,
let's
canvas
it
preemptively
in
case
someone
buys
it
so
we'll
canvas
it
we'll
come
back
for
three
weeks
and
and
everyone
will
be
scared
to
talk
to
us.
It's
not
until
a
new
landlord
buys
it
and
gives
everyone's
everyone.
O
O
Yeah,
and
even
with
the
outside
force,
like
we'd,
have
to
have
that
consistent
dialogue
with
folks
and
let
them
know
like
these-
are
your
rights,
don't
be
afraid,
because
if
they
do
retaliate,
this
is
what
we
can
do.
You
can
get
Triple
damages
for
retaliation
in
in
any.
If
you
guys
organize
for
six
months,
you
guys
are
protected,
like
these
rights
exist,
that
folks
don't
know,
and
even
when
they
have
an
organizer
in
front
of
them,
telling
them
that
everything's
gonna
be
okay.
O
K
Will
say,
as
someone
who
has
organized
and
built
my
own
building
and
helped
organize
in
a
number
of
other
buildings
across
the
city
of
Boston,
I
would
say,
fear
is
obviously
a
large
part
of
it,
but
I
think
the
biggest
part,
though
there
are
multiple
buildings
that
the
gbtu
has
successfully
organized
throughout
the
city
and
the
number
one
thing
is
getting
landlords
to
the
table
for
negotiations.
We
have
buildings
that
are
100
organized
and
the
tenants
are
ready
to
go
and
the
tenants
want
to
make
these
changes.
K
There's
no
there's
zero
incentive
at
all
for
landlords
to
come
to
the
table
to
negotiate
that,
because
it
only
costs
them
money,
because
the
only
issues
that
tenants
have
are
issues
with
their
housing
and
like
it's
going
to
cost
a
landlord
money.
So
without
any
of
that,
then
they
have
no
incentive
and
then
it's
not
happening
and
then
ultimately
the
biggest
thing
too
is
like
the
lack
of
rent
control
and
then
the
turnover
of
housing
due
to
that
is
that
people
cannot
afford
to
live
in
their
Apartments.
N
Yeah
and
I
think
the
only
thing
that
would
add
to
that
is
right:
resources
for
organizers,
right
expecting
that
these
organizers
are
continuously
tenants
doing
it
on
their
own
time.
On
top
of
the
lives
that
they're
already
trying
to
live
while
trying
to
fight
for
their
own
housing
is
a
really
massive
burden
to
put
on
people
and
so
I
think
resourcing
for
these
organizations
that
are
doing
this,
organizing
paying
organizers,
giving
people
the
resources
to
really
run
the
type
of
robust,
organizing
campaigns
that
these
type
of
things
take.
N
And
then
you
know
I
just
want
to
Echo
the
idea
of
fear
right.
It's
the
same,
whether
it's
tenant,
labor,
organizing
or
any
type
of
organizing
right,
the
ultimate
right.
The
big
impediment
here
is
fear
and
in
thinking
of
you
know
we're
at
City
Hall,
you
know
know
talking
with
city
council
what
this
looks
like.
N
N
These
are
the
things
that
we're
going
to
stand
up
for
for
you
and
with
you
right
because,
like
Mary
just
said
right
like
it's,
it's
pressure
like
what
gets
people
to
the
table
is
pressure,
and
so,
if
you
just
have
a
bunch
of
people
organizing
and
that
landlord
just
knows
that
well
to
come,
September
1st
half
of
these
people
are
going
to
be
out
of
here.
Anyways
they
don't
have
a
whole
lot
of
incentive.
N
But
if
the
mayor
or
a
city
councilor
the
city
council
as
a
whole
right
is
standing
with
that
Tenants
Union
standing
with
those
organizers
saying
no
as
a
city,
we're
watching
you
we're
expecting
you
to
come
to
this
table
because,
like
was
said
over
here
right,
like
eventually,
those
landlords
are
coming
back
to
the
city
for
their
right
they're
coming
for
a
permit
to
develop,
they
want
to
buy
something
new.
They
want
to
refurbish
their
apartment
right
like
they
need.
They
come
constantly
need
things
from
the
city
right,
and
so
what
does
it?
N
A
C
C
Some
good
news
in
the
sense
that
we
talked
about
the
what
the
consequences
for
landlords
that
are
abusive
and
aren't
doing
the
right
thing,
and
we
are,
we
I
filed
an
ordinance
or
scoff
law
ordinance
a
couple
of
weeks
ago.
That
would
have
consequences,
because
we
we
had
a
hearing,
contrer,
Edwards
and
I
had
a
hearing
a
few
last
two
years
ago.
Now,
but
all
the
changes
in
the
city
with
were
sort
of
catching
up
to
it
again.
C
That
will
hopefully
have
them
pay
attention
and
do
the
right
thing
more
often
than
not
not
the
other
way
around
so
and
you
know
that'll
be
I'm
sure
we'll
be
inviting
you
folks
back
to
have
be
part
of
that
conversation
as
well.
But
you
know
I
I
really
want
to
thank
you
for
the
great
work
and
I
think
as
we
all
work
together
on
developing
a
attendance
Bill
of
Rights
I.
C
A
Thank
you
all
I
just
want
to
Echo
my
gratitude
to
you
and
the
panelists
from
the
administration
as
well
that
we're
here
with
us
before
you
have
done
an
incredible
amount
of
work
and
have
really
taken
time,
not
just
in
your
professional
lives
but
in
your
personal
lives,
to
make
sure
that
your
neighbors
can
stay
in
their
homes
and
I.
Think
Mr
Martinez,
like
you
said
there
is
a
power
imbalance
and
the
city
should
be
on
the
side
of
the
tenant.
A
So
if
any
of
you
are
interested
in
being
a
part
of
that
work,
please
make
sure
to
stay
in
touch
with
our
office
and
we
will
more
than
likely
love
to
have
you
so
panelists.
You
are
excused
we're
going
to
move
on
to
public
testimony
Michael
Kane!
Please
join
us
here
for
public
testimony.
Please
introduce
yourself
and
your
affiliation
for
the
record,
and
you
have
two
minutes
for
Testimony.
Next
up
will
be
Ian
from
the
Greater
Boston
Tenants
Union
on
Zoom.
So
please
be
ready
right.
J
Thank
you
for
holding
this
hearing
and
for
waiting
patiently
this
long
I'm,
the
record
I'm
Michael
Kane
I
live
in
Jamaica
Plain
I'm,
the
director
of
the
mass
Alliance
of
Hud,
tenants
where
a
tenant
Union
in
privately
owned
government
subsidized
housing,
including
Mass
housing
buildings
like
the
Forbes
and
your
district
and
several
buildings
in
Brighton
that
we've
worked
in
over
the
years.
So
we
started
organizing
in
83
in
HUD,
multi-family,
housing,
vulnerable,
lower
income,
people
mixed
racial
background,
a
lot
of
elderly
families
with
children
so
particularly
vulnerable
people.
J
All
the
landlords
are
large
corporate
landlords
and
the
channel
they
a
lot
of
them
were
starting
to
convert
their
buildings
to
market
rate,
and
we
were
fighting
that
or
they
were
in
very
substandard
condition
and
actually
going
to
through
HUD
foreclosure.
So
there's
a
risk
around
that
we
started
organizing
one
building
at
a
time.
We
very
quickly
realized
the
Fear
Factor
that
is
so
deeply
rooted.
Everybody
is
afraid
of
doing
anything
because
they'll
be
evicted
and
that's
true
today,
despite
the
rights
that
we
were
able
to
get
established
in
HUD
housing.
J
So
it
took
10
years,
but
we
later
we
founded
the
National
Alliance
of
Hud
tennis
because
we
realized
he
couldn't
get
very
far
with
HUD
just
locally.
So
we
reached
out
to
Sister
organizations
around
the
country
came
together
in
the
early
90s
and
we
worked
several
years.
We
finally
got
HUD
to
adopt
a
right
to
organize
this
regulation,
which
I
have
copies
here,
and
it
is
considered
pretty
much
the
gold
standard
for
the
right
to
organize,
but
it's
only
in
HUD
multi-family
housing.
J
It
only
applies
to
HUD
multi-family
and
not
all
of
that
HUD
and
its
wisdom
says
that
project-based
vouchers
run
by
the
through
the
Housing
Authority
aren't
covered
by
the
right
to
organize
low-income
housing.
Tax
credit
units
are
not
covered,
so
there
is
currently
an
effort
at
the
national
level
to
extend
those
rights
to
other
federally
assisted
categories
of
Housing
and
we're
working.
We
worked
with
Congressman
Levin's
office
last
fall
to
file
the
right
to
organize
act
at
the
federal
level.
It
hasn't
been
refiled
in
this
session.
J
We're
looking
we're
asking
Rashida
to
leave
to
do
that
in
the
house,
and
people
are
talking
to
fetterman
in
the
Senate,
but
it's
going
to
take
years
to
get
those,
but
what
we
learned
from
that
is.
There
is
a
way
to
codify
the
right
to
organize.
There
is
a
way
to
do
it.
There
is
a
way
to
list
protected
activities,
which
is
what
these
regulations
do
very
well.
You
have
the
right
to
leaflet
door,
knock
post
flyers,
for
example,
very
specific
things.
J
It
also
there's
a
list
there's
another
document,
not
the
regulations,
but
the
there's.
A
HUD
handbook
that
listed
typical
ways
that
landlords
harass
people
and
prohibits
those
activities,
so
that
list
and
the
list
of
protected
activities
could
be
reflected
in
a
city
ordinance.
That's
I
mainly
wanted
to
come
today
to
talk
about
the
right
to
organize
to
mention
he
had
great
testimony
from
everyone
else
about.
J
You
know
the
obvious
State
legislation,
that's
needed,
a
bunch
of
things
just
cause
and
so
on,
but
the
city,
what
you
can
do,
I
think
is
fund
the
office
of
housing.
Stability,
give
them
the
resources
and
I
I
am
not
sure
I
think
you
can
fund
the
right
to
counsel
out
of
the
city
budget.
I,
don't
see
a
Prohibition
on
that
as
a
state
law
thing.
There
are
other
cities
that
have
done
that.
So
I
think
that
is
something
that
you
all
can
do
in
the
budget.
J
Coming
up
talk
to
the
mayor,
get
it
in
there
and
then
give
the
resources
to
the
OHS
to
do
the
education
things
and
perhaps
the
tenant,
organizing
things
that
people
have
talked
about
so
at
the
federal
level,
HUD
requires
every
landlord.
This
is
something
we
got
them
to
do.
We
wrote
The
Brochure,
distribute
of
brochure
to
every
tenant
each
year
upon
lease
signing,
so
that
is
now
done.
They've
done
millions
of
these
brochures
in
20
languages
Braille,
so
they
that's
a
requirement
at
the
federal
level.
J
There's
no
reason
that
can't
be
added
to
a
city
ordinance
run
it
through
the
office
of
housing,
stability,
so
I.
You
know
I
want
to
offer
my
assistance
to
the
committee
to
OHS
in
coming
up
with
the
right
to
organize
pieces
of
this,
and
the
last
thing
the
city
of
San
Francisco
has
adopted,
use,
use
the
federal
regs
that
I
just
talked
about
to
adopt
a
right
to
organize
for
private
tenants
and
that
we
can
get
that
ordinance
and
share
it
with
you
as
well.
Thank.
A
J
I
A
A
I
A
A
Okay,
it
looks
like
we
still
cannot
hear
you
Ian.
So
what
I'm
going
to
ask
you
to
do
is
I'm
going
to
thank
you
for
braving
this
hearing
and
if
you
could
submit
your
testimony
in
writing
to
the
committee
so
that
we
can
send
it
to
all
the
counselors
and
accept
it
for
the
record.
Would
you
be
willing
to
do
that?
Thank
you
so
much
and
I'm,
sorry
that
we
couldn't
figure
out
the
zoom
today,
but
I
look
forward
to
reading
your
testimony
and
passing
it
on
to
my
Council
colleagues.