Student Housing Office
Campus Center, 03, 03400
617-287-6011
Fax:617-287-6076
osh@umb.edu

Monday – Thursday from 9:00 to 5:00 pm And Friday from 10:00 to 4:00 pm

Legal Assistance and Referrals for Housing Issues

Greater Boston Legal Services: 617-371-1234

The Housing Unit offers legal assistance to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and groups that represent tenants in substandard housing and the homeless. The Unit helps people gain access to emergency shelter and long-term affordable housing. Because of the limited availability of safe and decent affordable housing in Boston, the Unit's highest priority is to preserve existing low-income housing and to help people access and remain in such housing.

Massachusetts Bar Association: 617-338-0500

Legal referral service with regular and reduced fee scales. A voluntary non-profit organization for lawyers in Massachusetts, offering legal information for members, non-member attorneys, and the public.  

Legal Advocacy Resource Center: 617-603-1700

LARC is a primary legal services screening agency for low-income people in Greater Boston area. It provides self-help assistance and brief advice on a variety of poverty law topics through a free legal hotline and refers low-income people to other agencies.

Massachusetts Law Reform: 617-727-3990

Publishes tenants' handbook, "Legal Tactics".

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination: 617-727-3990

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination's (MCAD) mission is to ensure equality of opportunity by enforcing the Commonwealth's Anti-discrimination laws, chapters 151B & 272, through the resolution of complaints of discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, services, credit and education.  The Commission reviews and advises Governor's Cabinet Offices, concerning the policy and practices of the state's affirmative mandates in employment, housing, construction contract compliance and minority and women business enterprises.  The Commission works to fulfill its mission through educating the public on issues concerning discrimination based upon race, color, national origin, national ancestry, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, and criminal records.

New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans: 617-371-1800

Our mission is to help rehabilitate and reintegrate veterans who are homeless, unemployed or underemployed by providing them with the tools to move toward self-sufficiency. We pursue this mission by providing programs and services to veterans in need at the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. This spectrum of supportive services includes housing, counseling, vocational training, job search workshops, living skills and health-related programs.

Rental Housing Resource Center: 617-635-4200

With the termination of rent and eviction protections for most tenants in Boston at the end of calendar year 1996, the Rental Housing Resource Center has taken on the task of creating an environment whereby landlord-tenant relationships are fostered through a system of cooperation and compromise rather than regulation. The RHRC provides a variety of services to tenants and owners of Boston's residential housing stock.

Boston Housing Authority: 617-988-4000

The mission of the Boston Housing Authority is to provide stable, quality affordable housing for low and moderate-income persons; to deliver these services with integrity and mutual accountability; and to create living environments which serve as catalysts for the transformation from dependency to economic self-sufficiency. The Boston Housing Authority is a public agency that provides subsidized housing to low and moderate-income individuals and families.

Emergency Shelter Commission: 617-635-4507

The mission of the Emergency Shelter Commission is to coordinate a safety net of services for Boston's homeless and for persons in need of food assistance. The objectives of the Emergency Shelter Commission are to provide information and referral to homeless and hungry persons, to provide food assistance to families and individuals through the Can Share, Food Drive, and hunger grants, and to access resources for services and housing for homeless persons.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation: 617-727-7780

http://www.state.ma.us/consumer/Pubs/tenant.htm is a Web site with a great amount of information on a wide variety of housing-related subjects. This page is prepared by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.