Subsidized Housing at Risk of Loss, New UMass Boston Study Says
(Boston – May 4, 2009) – Over the next decade, close to 17,000 units in 130 federally and state-financed developments in Massachusetts could be lost as affordable housing as they reach the end of their 40-year subsidized mortgage terms, according to a new report released by the Center for Social Policy (CSP) in the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
According to the report’s author, Emily Achtenberg, who is a nationally recognized expert on the problem, “The maturing mortgage crisis represents the latest challenge to the privately owned subsidized housing stock, its lower income residents, and the communities where these developments are located.”
To address this challenge, Achtenberg urges passage of state legislation introduced by Senator Susan Tucker and Representative Brian Honan, and supported by an array of housing advocacy groups, that would provide the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) or its designee with the first right to offer to purchase a subsidized property when the owner seeks to sell it, and would also provide strong protections for the tenants of such properties. The Joint Committee on Housing will hold a hearing on the bill on Tuesday, May 5.
Since 1987, about 6,700 net affordable units have been lost as owners have prepaid their subsidized mortgages or opted out of their rental subsidy contracts. While Massachusetts has had a strong track record in subsidized housing preservation, recent experiences with maturing mortgage properties – including the loss of more than 800 affordable units at three Boston developments – suggest that new approaches are needed, according to Achtenberg.
The study reveals some of the characteristics of this housing that pose special challenges for preservation and tenant protection, as well as the unique benefits that make these developments especially worth preserving. For example, many maturing mortgage properties are located in strong market neighborhoods where they are vulnerable to conversion pressures. Outside the major cities, the loss of an existing subsidized property will often put the municipality out of compliance with Chapter 40B.
The study was produced for CSP and the Boston Tenant Coalition and was funded in part by the Hyams Foundation. The full report and executive summary are available at: http://www.mccormack.umb.edu/centers/csp/our_briefs.php. For more information, contact Emily Achtenberg, ejpa@aol.com or 617-524-3982 / 617-365-3775, or Kathy Brown, Boston Tenant Coalition, Kathy@bostontenant.org or 617-423-8609 / 617-851-0542.
About UMass Boston With a growing reputation for innovative research addressing complex urban issues, the University of Massachusetts Boston, metropolitan Boston’s only public university, offers its diverse student population both an intimate learning environment and the rich experience of a great American city. UMass Boston’s seven colleges and graduate schools serve more than 14,000 students while engaging local, national, and international constituents through academic programs, research centers, and public service activities. To learn more about UMass Boston, visit www.umb.edu.