The Somerville Fair Housing Commission, a nonpartisan group of citizens serving the community, asked candidates for Mayor and City Council  a set of questions about Fair Housing in 2021 and again this year, in 2023.

Question 1: Have you ever seen or personally experienced discrimination in housing (either in renting, buying, or getting a mortgage)? What did you observe, how did you handle it, and how did you feel about it?

William Tauro, Candidate for Mayor

My most powerful experience with discrimination in housing happened to people I love. My wife is a Brazilian immigrant and I saw firsthand the things her family and friends had to deal with. I heard stories of how they just gave up when they hit the discrimination wall. Some of them sought help from agencies that are often underfunded. I feel very angry about it. Sometimes credit scores are used as a reason for denial which is really thinly veiled discrimination against a group of people.

Matthew Hunt, Candidate for City Council, Ward 1

In my time living in the north of Ireland I was keenly aware of the continued housing discrimination against members of both my own community and against immigrant and ethnic minority communities. This discrimination there has been ongoing for generations, and while it is getting better, there is still much work to do. The way it manifests is in what we could call “red lining” here in the US to keep communities separate, as well as unreasonable and unequally applied requirements to renters and buyers from marginalized groups.

Naima Sait, Candidate for City Council, Ward 5

When I first moved to MA as a first-generation immigrant from Algeria, it was extremely difficult for me to find housing that I could afford. I slept on people’s couches for months. Because landlords require credit checks and rental history, I was not able to rent a place for almost a year. Since I was a new immigrant, I didn’t have a credit or a rental history. It took a year for me to qualify to rent a room and because I had to supply first and last month’s rent and security deposit, I had to share a 1 bedroom with 2 other people who had also recently immigrated to the US. When I decided to move to Somerville, it took months to find housing that fit my budget as an educator at Somerville High School. The reason I was not selected during interviews to rent a bedroom has to do with my economic status. I was a new immigrant who didn’t have credit history. Eventually, I benefited from an affordable housing opportunity in my friend group. My experience is very common in the immigrant communities. It takes months, if not years, for immigrants to qualify to rent a place and once they qualify, often they have to work 2 to 3 jobs in order to keep up with the rising rents. As a Somerville educator who worked mostly with immigrant families, I have seen many of them forced to move out of Somerville. It’s also very concerning that Somerville educators cannot afford to live in the community they serve.

Jack Connolly, Candidate for City Council, Ward 6

I am fortunate enough to not have experienced personal discrimination in housing, but many others have. Discrimination of any kind is unacceptable. I personally know a few individuals that faced homelessness and the only difference between them and myself was a paycheck. These individuals were not plagued by addiction, tarnished with a criminal record, or struggling with mental health. Their lives fell apart and they found themselves without a roof over their heads and lacking enough money for a first month, last month, and a security deposit necessary to secure a place to call home. These people could have been you or me and still could be if misfortune fell upon us.

In Massachusetts there are a lot of agencies tasked with assisting housing for those facing homelessness, but they also have their own definition of homelessness that is also a requirement on their applications. The individual must be able to provide evidence that they have been homeless for a minimum of one year to be eligible for assistance. I don’t know about you, but a year is too long for anyone to not have a safe place to call home and this is something that needs to be changed.

After speaking with agency after agency these individuals were able to find a few of the good advocates left that were able to help them while others turned them away because they weren’t homeless long enough. These individuals are both to this day housed, gainfully employed and able to look forward and away from the nightmare they once had to live.

Wilfred Mbah, Candidate for City Council At Large

I have been a victim of housing discrimination in the past. During the period of COVID disruption, I was forced to leave the apartment my family and I were renting. The details of this are personal and I will not elaborate. Happily, we have been able to stay in Somerville and now are permanently settled.

Question 2: What do you think are the most common forms of housing discrimination in Somerville?

 William Tauro, Candidate for Mayor

Currently, one of the biggest factors in housing exclusivity is cost. When there is a bidding war on a piece of real estate in Somerville, the house goes to the highest bidder regardless of who they are. Huge property prices become huge rents. So, the issue becomes the groups that these huge price tags exclude from living in Somerville. People of modest income helped by housing vouchers must not be excluded from renting a unit by law. Also, condo conversions have resulted in a lot of smaller units which excludes by size, people with children. The problem arises when the voucher does not reflect the cost of the rental unit or fair market rates.

Matthew Hunt, Candidate for City Council, Ward 1

A profit driven model that prefers short term gains over community building. Gentrification and a lack of affordability is a shrouded means to continue to discriminate against protected classes.

Naima Sait, Candidate for City Council, Ward 5

Enforcement of Fair Housing laws is left largely to private legal action, so even many people who belong to protected classes (thanks to race, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, marital status, etc.) lack the resources to sue and so suffer illegal discrimination. The high price level of housing in Somerville is a major barrier to housing access for people in most income brackets. Practices that are common among local landlords such as checking credit scores, checking public eviction records, and requiring renters to pay their first and last months’ rents alongside their security deposit, often as well as a broker’s fee, can exclude even many people who can make the rent payments but whose financial histories are imperfect. Somerville’s existing housing stock also presents barriers to many people. Few smaller buildings have accommodations for people with disabilities. Families struggle to find apartments with three or more bedrooms that have either been de-leaded apartments or are held by landlords willing to bear the risk of children living in apartments that have not been de-leaded. Tenants who live in unsafe conditions in apartments that do not meet code may be reluctant to call Inspectional Services out of fear of retaliation by their landlord or the loss of their housing if ISD should declare their unit unfit for habitation.

Jack Connolly, Candidate for City Council, Ward 6

Housing is denied most often because the process seemingly has been made too difficult almost as if on purpose to sort out who should and shouldn’t have it. Housing should be made available to anyone who needs it and we need to use our resources that we already have to make it more accessible. Groups like Somerville Housing Authority should receive more support from the city and no one should ever be turned away from the opportunity to have housing of any kind in this city.

The City of Somerville has hosted housing lotteries frequently but they could offer more, they could also make a better effort at letting the community know more about them and providing assistance with the application for those needing it. One of the worst things about the lotteries is what do you do if you don’t win? Your hope of finding a home that you found to be perfect for you and your needs in a City you couldn’t wait to live in have gone away. There should be follow up with applicants that didn’t win the housing lottery to go over other housing options, assistance, and programs that could be available to them.

Wilfred Mbah, Candidate for City Council At Large

We need to understand that racism and discrimination are deeply embedded within our society and, as a result, people of color are often denied housing. But it does not end at race, there are several other groups that landlords and property managers discriminate against — national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, age, source of income, disability, gender and pregnancy, or veteran status.

Additional questions and answers will be presented in next week’s edition of The Somerville Times.