Housing

While the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated housing instability and injustices in the market, it’s important to acknowledge that these issues have long-term roots. Prior to the pandemic, high-quality housing in the Greater Boston area had become increasingly scarce and expensive. Some credit increasing prices to a high demand for housing and not enough supply, as the region's population has been gradually increasing throughout the past decade, with a population of nearly 4.9 million in the Greater Boston area as of the end of 2019. Others hypothesize that long commutes into the city have made housing in Boston more desirable, and thus more expensive. Regardless of the cause, the increase in housing and prices has made it more difficult for individuals and families to purchase houses and condos, often forcing them to rent from small or corporate landlords. As such, more people have wound up in less stable living situations, at a greater risk for eviction, because they can’t afford to own their homes. In fact, throughout the decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, about fifteen evictions occurred every day in Boston, with a significant number of those affecting immigrants and people of color. 

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, housing and rental prices, as well as evictions in Boston have only increased. Large-scale job loss throughout the Commonwealth has played a central role in this issue and is likely to have lasting effects. As of August 2020, Massachusetts had an unemployment rate of 11.3%, compared to the nation’s unemployment rate of 8.4%. With the slowing economy affecting people’s ability to afford their housing, the state paused all evictions starting in April 2020 and extended the moratorium twice before it expired on October 17, 2020. However, the Greater Boston Housing Report Card Series details that, in spite of the grace period formally instituted by the state, many Massachusetts residents were still making partial payments, revealing that they were continuing to fall behind on rent and mortgage. In contrast, national trends show that unemployment benefits and federal stimulus checks helped residents keep up with housing payments elsewhere in the nation. This disparity is a symptom of the Greater Boston area’s deep-rooted housing crisis. Furthermore, the pandemic has only perpetuated existing racial injustices in Boston’s housing market, as Massachusetts remains one of the most segregated states in the country—with redlining exacerbating the consequences of racial segregation—and job losses from the pandemic being disproportionately concentrated among communities of color. As a result, white residents are more likely to be up to date on housing payments than people of color, especially since the start of the pandemic. 

Anticipating a significant number of evictions that would follow the expiration of the state’s eviction moratorium, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker enacted the Covid-19 Eviction Diversion Initiative in October 2020. This initiative aimed to provide tenants and landlords with financial resources to handle rehousing costs and eviction cases, providing $100 million for assistance through Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), $50 million for efficient rehousing, and $12.3 million for legal representation. Nonetheless, many argue that these funds would have been insufficient to address the Greater Boston area’s housing crisis prior to the pandemic, much less after. Furthermore, others explain that programs like RAFT were founded to serve residents in need during “normal” times, but aren’t equipped to handle the breadth of the crisis that the pandemic has created. 

When the Massachusetts eviction moratorium expired in late October, the CDC moratorium went into effect, which ensures that tenants who are unable to pay their dues and submit a written declaration to their landlord will not be evicted until June 30, 2021. However, this moratorium does not put a hold on the legal eviction process, meaning that landlords can legally evict their tenants prior to the moratorium’s expiration, even though residents cannot physically be removed before then. Therefore, it is crucial that tenants presently at risk of eviction know their rights and have access to legal representation. However, because eviction filings are civil rather than criminal proceedings, tenants are not guaranteed legal representation on behalf of the state, putting them at a disadvantage in court proceedings. Furthermore, it is important to note that while the CDC moratorium allows residents more time to pay their housing dues, it does not forgive them altogether. Thus, many expect that residents in the Greater Boston area will face long-term rental debt, with long-term repercussions which are expected to be particularly concentrated in Black and Brown communities. 

Boston’s housing crisis has only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and many residents are calling for long-term, structural change. The city’s next mayoral election is set to take place on November 2nd, 2021, and many candidates have spoken publicly about how they plan to address the housing crisis. In interviews with NBC Boston, five candidates responded to the following question: “what will you do to prevent working people in Boston from getting priced out of their homes once everyone is inoculated?”. In her response, Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu acknowledged the long-term nature of the housing crisis, when she noted, “from 2011 to 2017, fewer than 9% of newly permitted units were affordable to residents making up to 60% of the Area Median Income -- or nearly half of Boston’s residents.” She explained that, as Mayor, she would work to ensure “long-term affordability and stability” for residents by making improvements to Boston’s housing and transportation sectors. Another candidate, Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell, explained that she was one of Boston’s first elected officials to call for a ban on evictions and foreclosures during the pandemic. She added that, as Mayor, she would “protect renters and homeowners from losing their homes during the pandemic and work to undo systemic racism’s effect on Boston’s housing” by working with banks to ensure more equitable access to loans that will provide home ownership opportunities. 

In response to the same question, Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George highlighted the issue of chronic homelessness and stressed the relationship between homeownership and the wealth gap. She posited that “we need to increase our housing stock, it’s really one of the only ways to alleviate the market and make homes more affordable, and create better paths to homeownership.” State Representative Jon Santiago asserted that, as Mayor, “investing and advocating for rent-to-own and right of first refusal policies while passing the HOMES Act on Beacon Hill [would] be priorities.” He also stressed housing protections for elderly populations and emphasized that certain communities have benefited disproportionately from Boston’s economic development, while others have been left behind. Finally, Former Chief of Economic Development John Barros stressed the importance of expanding Boston’s Office of Housing Stability to ensure that tenants and other residents know their rights, are protected from eviction, and have access to government programs and support when they need it. He also underscored the need to increase housing supply and “continue to call on the state and federal governments to provide more resources for affordable homes and public housing options,” especially for seniors and those living with disabilities. You can access the candidates’ full responses here.