The Somerville Fair Housing Commission asked a series of six questions of the mayoral and City Council candidates concerning housing issues in the city. Last week we published the first two questions and answers. The questions were presented to all of the candidates, and the answers presented here were the ones received by the Commission. The remaining two questions and answers will be published next week.

Question 3:

What is the most important thing that Somerville landlords, property managers, real estate agents, or owners selling their homes need to know to further Fair Housing in Somerville? What would you do to increase compliance with Fair Housing law?

Katjana Ballantyne, Candidate for Mayor
Landlords should be encouraged to consult with the City’s Office of Housing Sustainability at all times, but particularly when they are considering selling their property. Landlords and property owners must be made aware that their tenants have protections and that having tenants can be an asset. Landlords and owner who are selling should instruct their real estate agents not to give orders to vacate their apartments in order the make an easier sale. A great deal more public education must be provided on this issue.

I’ll use education, promotions mailings and all methods of social media to inform landlords, owners, managers and agents about Fair Housing rights and responsibilities. I’ll make sure that the initiatives of the Fair Housing Commission are appropriately funded.

Mary Cassesso, Candidate for Mayor
The most important thing for folks to know is that they should take advantage of the housing resources that are already available, for example, the educational materials and training that the Fair Housing Commission provides. The Office of Housing Stability is a great resource for Somerville, and the City budget should continue to fund and consider increasing funding for Fair Housing enforcement. Because unit repair requirements, including de-leading, can be an obstacle to leasing to families or to households with Section 8 vouchers, the City should do more to support property owners making improvements to get their units ready for these households.

Will Mbah, Candidate for Mayor
To increase compliance with Fair Housing law I will introduce a rental licensure program and make the rental process more transparent. Prospective tenants should be able to easily view complaints, lawsuits, and the history against a landlord or property manager they are considering renting from. This will incentivize property managers and landlords to follow the law when renting and treat prospective tenants and current tenants with respect.

In addition, I will fully fund and staff the Somerville Fair Housing Commission so that it has the resources it needs to minimize and ultimately eliminate discrimination in housing. I believe that in some instances of housing discrimination, landlords and property managers are not intentionally being discriminatory, but have not been property educated about fair housing policies and what is legal and what is not. We can eliminate these unintentional instances of discrimination through improved education and outreach.

Charlotte Kelly, Candidate for City Council At Large
I believe it’s important to root our analysis of Fair Housing by asking, “Who is most vulnerable and who has power?” While landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and sellers may need to better understand the Fair Housing law in order to comply, it is also critical that tenants and buyers understand their own rights. Organizations like Community Action Agency of Somerville, Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville, and Asian American Resource Workshop, as well as the Office of Housing Stability have done incredible work to make sure tenants have access to information regarding their rights. We can still do much more to ensure that tenants understand their rights and protections and are able to advocate for themselves when necessary. As well as expand services like the Office of Housing Stability to help advocate with tenants in order to have their rights protected. If elected, I would work with the Council and the Inspectional Service Division to audit the enforcement process of health code within residential properties, in order to ensure residents are living in safe and healthy homes. I would work with the Office of House Stability to create lease templates so landlords can provide leases to their tenants that are fair and in compliance with the law. Lastly, we have to find ways to publicly track landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and sellers who discriminate, violate tenants rights, or are otherwise known to be acting in ways that are harmful and unlawful. We have to work with tenants rights groups, social justice organizations, and housing justice groups to determine what kind of material consequences entities should face who violate Fair House laws.

Justin Klekota, Candidate for City Council At Large

State and Federal Fair Housing Law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, military status, age (except minors), sexual orientation, family status (e.g. have children), source of income (e.g. Section 8), disability, marital status, genetic information, and ancestry. As a City Councilor, I am committed to working with the Somerville Fair Housing Commission and funding its educational outreach efforts to landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and owners as well as to residents to know their rights.

Kristen Strezo, Councilor At Large
The most important thing that Somerville landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and owners selling their homes need to know to further Fair Housing in Somerville is that housing instability is incredibly common. The names and faces experiencing housing insecurity are their community members, their neighbors and their children’s classmates.

We need to humanize the housing instability crisis because it affects the entirety of our community. And ignoring the human right of Fair Housing distances us from the fact that Somerville, and the Commonwealth, is in the middle of an underfunded moral crisis.

To increase compliance, we need more public awareness campaigns in Somerville, and I will support this to make it happen. Additionally, I will continue advocating to increase the allocation of municipal funds and expand the number of staff for the Office of Housing Stability to ensure that residents have access to the necessary resources. During the pandemic, for months I spoke with some of the largest landlords in Somerville asking them to work with their tenants who have fallen behind on rent and to not evict them.

This fight extends beyond Somerville. I am working alongside many housing advocates across the Commonwealth to enact support for the statewide Transfer Fee. We need more supportive House and Senate Bills that fund affordable housing, more compliance, and more education campaigns.

Tracey Pratt, Candidate for City Council At Large
The most important thing the above mentioned groups need to know are federal and state laws. They need to understand that their potential actions could be unlawful and carry consequences. We need to hold people in these positions accountable for their actions.

As city councilor I would support or propose resolutions for the following. I would also advocate for budget increases in these areas:

1. Both tenants and landlords need to be well versed in the law. I’d support more training such as fair housing 101. This training or some form of it should be mandatory for landlords. It can be done virtually or even by watching a video that they’d have to sign off that they saw said training and understand pertinent components of the law.
2. Landlords should have to submit an annual fair housing compliance checklist for all properties.
3. All complaints should be investigated and resolved.

Virginia Hussey, Candidate for City Council At Large
Landlords and property managers need to understand that vouchers don’t; make people bad tenants, and that their misperceptions can have serious effects on families who are struggling to stay in their community.

Willie Burnley, Jr., Candidate for City Council At Large
I think that all landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and owners must know that they are required to follow the law regarding Fair Housing, up to code for the safety and health of their tenants, and that they will face consequences from the City of Somerville as well as all appropriate agencies and governments if they do not do so. There are a number of initiatives I’d be interested in exploring in order to help facilitate that.

Under current law, landlords are responsible for giving tenants documents regarding their rights and resources when they send them an eviction notice. Although this is an improvement, I believe that all landlords should be mandated to supply their tenants with a tenants rights document and fair housing resources upon a lease’s signage. These documents should include information about how to report housing discrimination to the Fair Housing Commission because, according to the aforementioned Somerville study, many – perhaps a majority – of residents do not know how to report housing discrimination. Our city should work to increase knowledge among the general public around fair housing, including ensuring that the Office of Housing Stability can have the funds to host educational community events and facilitate reporting.

I am also intrigued by the possibility of the City creating template leases that outline for residents what is legal and illegal for your landlord to require of their tenants. This would allow residents to take note of which landlords are potentially creating unfair conditions for their tenants and then report these inconsistencies to the City. As a Councilor, I will engage the Director of the Office of Housing Stability on the feasibility of this, in addition to the feasibility of partnering with organizations that do fair housing checks so that we can ensure that our residents have a housing market as free from structural and interpersonal oppression as possible.

JT Scott, City Councilor, Ward 2
In addition to familiarity and compliance with state and federal Fair Housing law as stated above, property owners must be aware of the Somerville Condo Conversion Ordinance which contains strong protections for renters facing displacement due to condo conversion. At the very least, a rental property registration database would provide the city a means for outreach to incoming and existing tenants to inform them of their rights. The Office of Housing Stability is doing excellent work with community partners through Know Your Rights campaigns around tenant protections, but we lack a central point of contact for people engaged in housing searches who are faced with illegal fees, unfair practices, and outright discrimination.

Ben Ewen-Campen, City Councilor, Ward 3
For years, I have advocated for Somerville to establish a very visible and continual Fair Housing testing and enforcement program, instead of the largely complaint-based system we rely on now (http://somervillecityma.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?ID=19559&highlightT erms=illegal%20housing%20discrimination). Just as the government regularly sends underage “testers” to buy alcohol or cigarettes, I believe landlords and real estate agents would be far less likely to casually discriminate if they knew that Fair Housing testers who regularly out in our community.

Two other policies I will be working on in the upcoming term: I am leading the Council’s efforts to examine how we can encode Fair Housing principles in our Zoning ordinance. In particular, I believe we can create tools to encourage developers to use principles of Fair Housing in the marketing of new units, to actively recruit tenants and buyers from many different backgrounds. I am also working with community partners to create a revitalized first-time homebuyers mortgage assistance program, similar to the One+ program in Boston, using funds from large developers.

Beatriz Gómez Mouakad, City Council candidate, Ward 5
Knowledge of the Fair Housing Law is important, but reinforcing the importance of the law to preserve and ensure a diverse community that is equally accessible to all (which is at the heart of the law) needs to be emphasized. To increase compliance I would advocate for increase access to fair housing law information as per below:

• Clear information available to all landlords, property managers, real estate agents and owners plus homeowners, renters and buyers should be mandated during all transactions and when feasible it should be posted in a public location visible to all similar to HIPPA rights in a doctor’s office. For example fair housing law is posted in a public lobby of a multi-family home or in a rental/real estate agency.
• At lease or mortgage signing a review of fair housing law with all parties involved including but not limited to landlord, tenant/seller and homeowner etc.
• Annually send all landlords, property owners and homeowners and tenants a summary of fair housing law rights.
• Provide homeowners, property owners, landlords etc with instructions and guidelines for where and how to publish notifications for home sales and rentals to ensure equal accessibility to information. Lack of information or where information is posted can lead to exclusion or limit access to some populations.
• Include a hotline for reporting cases of violation of fair housing law with the potential of access to legal services.
• Include information forums or even videos on-line explaining fair housing law.
• All information or services above need to be provided in multiple languages and include translators. This should be a mandate in the City for all Fair Housing Law information should it not be already enforced.

Tessa Bridge, City Council candidate, Ward 5
Education and awareness building is incredibly important for both landlords and tenants to ensure that Fair Housing laws are enforced, that tenants know their rights, and that landlords are held accountable. One strategy to make sure that landlords understand the requirements is to adopt a tenants bill of rights in Somerville which clearly outlines what tenants should expect of their landlords and what landlords must do to be in compliance. To give teeth to this strategy we also need to increase enforcement through ISD. ISD can do regular unannounced visits to properties to ensure that they are up to standard and follow up promptly when allegations of discrimination are brought by tenants. Furthermore, the city can create lease templates that they require all landlords to use which outline both the tenants and landlords’ responsibilities so that both parties are aware and accountable. Finally, by increasing investment in the Office of Sustainable Housing so that there are layers available to any tenants who need them when facing housing discrimination disputes, the court system can also serve to hold landlords accountable to their tenants.

Todd Easton, City Council candidate, Ward 5
The city needs to do a better job at educating stakeholders about housing law, as well as increasing enforcement and inspectional services. Landlords and building owners in Somerville need to know that discrimination in housing in Somerville will not be tolerated and that this is a city priority which will be enforced.

Alexander Anderson, City Council candidate, Ward 7
Landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and owners selling their homes should be informed of the rules and regulations related to fair housing in Somerville. And, they should also be engaged with representatives of the city so they can understand the spirit of fair housing approaches and the goals of fair housing in our community. I think this knowledge sharing and engagement should be conducted in an on-going way and returned to on a regular basis to make sure the shared information and culture around fair housing in Somerville is consist for everything working to rent or buy property in Somerville.

Landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and owners should also be aware of the consequences of violating fair housing practices and be held accountable for transgressions in a way that is transparent.

Becca Miller, City Council candidate, Ward 7
We should be asking what tenants need, and how to enforce their rights, including Protection from Evictions + Right to Counsel. We should already expect that landlords, property managers, and real estate agents know the laws around fair housing. We should require that all landlords, real estate agents, property managers, and homeowners selling their property give prospective tenants or buyers information on the already existing laws. The city should also engage in random inspections to ensure that the law is being followed, alongside increased penalties for non-compliance that cannot be passed on to tenants. We should also pass a fair housing ordinance, similar to Boston’s, that includes increased inspections and requirements to comply with the law. Finally, the fair housing commission could create a template lease that could be posted online as a resource to serve as an example of what is legal and not legal to include in a lease.

Judy Pineda Neufeld, City Council candidate, Ward 7
The best way to ensure that Fair Housing laws are followed is to make sure that both tenants and landlords clearly understand their rights and responsibilities. This must be done in a way that accounts for language and cultural barriers and reaches those without access to the internet or a computer. I have already begun this work as the lead for the Immigrant Services Unit (ISU) under the City of Somerville’s Covid response. There I helped ensure that immigrant communities and marginalized folks had information on city and partner services in five languages. Members of the ISU participated in the Know Your Rights coalition led by the Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) and the ISU tabled at grocery stores and city squares with information on tenant rights and the eviction moratorium. I believe in meeting people where they are and utilizing a comprehensive communications campaign in our main languages in Somerville to spread the word. Flyers, social media, town halls, word of mouth, and just plain community organizing are all keys to success in getting the information out about tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities. I look forward to the opportunity to work with the Fair Housing Commission on this issue and will ensure the commission is adequately staffed and supported by the City to carry out this duty.

Maria Koutsoubaris, City Council candidate, Ward 7
They are being treated unfairly with attention to the current ordinance. It hasn’t been designed to assist in fair housing but to put a strangle hold on homeowners which results in a domino effect. Eventually trickling down to the tenant that has to pay in order for the owner to keep in good standing with mortgages and property maintenance. A reverse of the ordinance would release the property owners to sell or buy in a more comfortable manner which again results in no extra fees back to the city and the domino effect of a lower rental for the tenants.

Question 4:

What do you see as the link between affordability and Fair Housing in Somerville?

Katjana Ballantyne, Candidate for Mayor
Housing security is fundamental to having food security, safety, education and employment opportunities. Fair access to housing is the foundation that enables all other kinds of social equity, including affordability. Vulnerable community groups including single-parent households, minorities and immigrants are disproportionately excluded by the most common systems and structures that we use to secure safe housing, healthy food, good education, and living-wage jobs. Affordability and Fair Housing are absolutely linked. By working to address affordability we can make a positive impact upon Fair Housing. To create and/or to purchase affordable housing is expensive, but by improving affordability, and the regulatory requirements supporting affordability, our Fair Housing objectives can be accomplished.

Mary Cassesso, Candidate for Mayor
Fair Housing policies were created to protect against discrimination and racism in housing but the outcomes have not been sufficient to address the needs in communities, especially Somerville, where we have witnessed a tremendous increase in home equity. Even though Fair Housing laws are on the books, the critical component often lacking is enforcement, which can keep families with portable subsidies from being able to rent in Somerville. Providing equal access to the amenities and resources in Somerville to households from diverse backgrounds is a critical goal, and in many ways a lack of affordable options can act as a de facto Fair Housing barrier. While this is an issue in Somerville, it is also an issue regionally. We must work together with Boston, Cambridge, and other neighboring cities to stabilize affordable rental and buying opportunities.

Will Mbah, Candidate for Mayor
Protected classes that are discriminated against are often forced to seek affordable housing because they are denied housing by landlords and property managers. This is wrong, and individuals and families should not be forced into affordable housing because they have been discriminated against.

Charlotte Kelly, Candidate for City Council At Large
Centuries of systemic disenfranchisement and discrimination against Black people, immigrants, disabled people, and women have led to our current economic conditions. Today, many people lack the same kind of generational wealth that upper middle class white people have been able to build, which allows some to afford housing that meets their needs while others struggle to cobble together rent payments. While programs like the New Deal and the GI bill did help lift some people with oppressed identities into the middle class, discrimination in local adminstering of New Deal programs, decentralization of certain economic benefits of the GI Bill, and the eventual practice of redlining all shaped the current housing landscape that we live in today. Fair Housing standards are important to highlight and name, and we must also get to the much deeper roots of the housing crisis. We can do this by addressing the economic and material conditions of people from protected classes who have suffered for decades at the hands of discriminatory financial institutions, segregationist housing policies, means-tested programs, mass incarceration, misogynist and ableist employment practices, and other ways that people in power maintain a status quo that does not provide stable, affordable housing to all of us. Somerville is a city shaped by all of this. Working class neighborhoods in Somerville see higher rates of asthma and cancer, increased rodent population, and dangerous roads and sidewalks, while more middle class neighborhoods in Somerville see more bike lanes, green space, and tree canopy. Housing is a human right and until we have a community where all of our neighbors are provided with everything they need to live in safe and stable shelter, we must continue to fight for Fair Housing — not just in name but with real resources. We can push for things like universally designed affordable units, more family-sized affordable units, working with state and federal officials to invest and build more public housing, and to approach homelessness with a housing-first model. In order to build a truly affordable city, we must make policies that invest real resources into the people whom Fair Housing laws are set up to protect.

Justin Klekota, Candidate for City Council At Large
Discrimination based on source of income (e.g. Section 8) and other protected classes listed above is contrary our law and our values as a community as it pertains to housing affordability and the cause of justice. Our housing stock should include affordable units and fair practices that make them accessible regardless of source of income and other protected classes.

Kristen Strezo, Councilor At Large
One prominent link that I see between affordability and Fair Housing in Somerville is destigmatizing the need for affordable housing in the community. We need to assess if there is a stigma against low-income and affordable housing residents that presents a large barrier to passing policies that increase affordable housing stock. If we work to destigmatize affordability and instead, support lower-income residents, we are able to enact policy that expands access to affordable and accessible units including increasing the number of large units for families, units for families with small children, Section 8 stock, and ADA accessible and senior-friendly units. We have to destigmatize low-income renters and affordable housing by fighting for tenants’ rights and encouraging more landlords to rent to low-income residents. One of my main goals as a City Councilor is to expand affordable housing options in the community and to emphasize that many members of our community are housing insecure — through no fault of their own. I am working to destigmatize and expand affordable housing through supporting programs–and amplifying the significance of programs like SomerVIP — which incentivizes landlords and realtors to rent to residents with Section 8 housing vouchers — and inclusionary zoning policies to achieve a more equitable city.

Tracey Pratt, Candidate for City Council At Large
In my opinion, lack of affordability is a violation of fair housing. If we can’t afford something; how do we gain access to it? If a person cannot gain access to safe, affordable housing, how do they take care of themselves and their families? It’s a basic human right and if you don’t have it, the next generation is negatively affected. Wealth is generational and unfortunately so is poverty. One of the few ways to attain assets is through home ownership, which can then be passed to the next generation. Home ownership does not happen in a vacuum. Rarely can people jump from poverty to home ownership opportunities. First they need stable and fair housing opportunities that they can afford.

Virginia Hussey, Candidate for City Council At Large
With housing so expensive, it’s impossible to afford to live here unless you have assistance, whether it is government or family, or if you are lucky enough to have a high paying job in tech. We can’t fix this with only building more units. We need good paying jobs, more Somerville residents in city jobs, and better connections between the trade unions and the high school.

Willie Burnley, Jr., Candidate for City Council At Large
As an activist, an organizer, and someone who has staffed the re-election campaign of both Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey, I’ve seen the power that governments of all kinds have to build pathways to prosperity or impede them. Affordability and Fair Housing are two of those pathways, without which many of our community members would be barred from dignified lives in Somerville. I see it as the job of city councilors, as well as all elected officials, to facilitate an enforceable system of fair housing to ensure that violators are identified, publicized, and financially penalized in such a way that eliminates discriminatory practices in our community. Perhaps funds that result from such fines could be used to help further affordability in our community and be instilled into a trust.

I share Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of eliminating racism, poverty, and war, and this question reminds me very much of two of his quotes. Firstly, one related to the interrelated nature of capitalism (systemically-imposed or tolerated poverty) and racism (white supremacy).

“We know that it isn’t enough to integrate lunch counters,” King said in 1968. “What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn’t earn enough money to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee?” In this quote, I see the need as a future city councilor to do as much as I can to ensure our residents make living wages with which they can have dignified fiscal and social lives in our community. I see the need to eliminate the structural and interpersonal barriers that get in the way of Dr. King’s vision. But there is another quote that also comes to mind, this one more firmly centered around capitalism.

“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar,” Dr. King once said. “It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”

Quite frankly, we must move in a direction where we understand that justice is more than relying on a soulless market in which some people are able to afford to house themselves with dignity. We must move toward housing as a human right where one’s income is not the deciding factor for what is, quite literally, a life-saving commodity.

JT Scott, City Councilor, Ward 2
One very clear link is the interaction between the Affordability Standards for SHA Section 8 vouchers vs the average market rental prices of units, which makes many Section 8 voucher holders unable to use those vouchers locally. Another significant link is observable in the segmentation of our rental market – namely that newer, more expensive units are more likely to be in compliance with ADA and lead paint certifications. For a family seeking housing, the owners of the “most affordable” older units are more likely to discriminate against them because of the lack of accessibility or de-leading certifications, leaving families and people with disabilities priced out in a search which only includes more expensive new/”luxury” units.

Ben Ewen-Campen, City Councilor, Ward 3
In addition to direct discrimination, I believe that in fact the primary factor keeping most people from stable housing in Somerville is the skyrocketing cost of housing in our community. Very few working families can afford the current “market rate” rents or home-prices in Somerville, and nearly all rely on the shrinking stock of relatively less expensive housing that manages to still exist in our neighborhoods. Without plentiful housing options that are safe, affordable, and accessible, and without a strong tenant rights enforcement program, we will continue to see housing become less and less attainable for everyone who isn’t wealthy. And with such an expensive and competitive real estate market, landlords and property owners are able to “pick and choose” tenants in a discriminatory fashion.

Beatriz Gómez Mouakad, City Council candidate, Ward 5
Due to economic inequality certain racial and ethnic and mobility/visually impaired groups are unable to afford to live and have access to decent housing and therefore live in certain neighborhoods. This means that to achieve true housing equity affordability needs to be factored in as it is a means to increase access and improve equity for these groups throughout the community.

Tessa Bridge, City Council candidate, Ward 5
Fair Housing and affordability are intertwined. We must take bold action so that everyone, regardless of their identity or family, economic, or immigration status, has access to affordable and accessible housing. To achieve this, we must increase funding to the Office of Housing Stability and to local community organizing efforts such as CAAS to ensure that tenants have access to the services they need to find housing, and then ensure that they are well-treated by their landlords and that the housing is maintained. By investing in a thriving network of community organizations we can build a strong safety net to support tenets. Furthermore, Somerville must build on existing progressive affordable housing policies including increasing the percentage of affordable housing from 20% to 25%, building mixed-income social housing (rental housing that is owned by the city), focusing on transit-oriented housing, and supporting the Somerville Community Land Trust (SCLT) by moving more publicly owned land into the SCLT. All efforts to increase affordable housing in our city must be made through the lens of equity and justice, and with an understanding of the history and current predatory housing practices perpetuated against BIPOC, immigrants, and low-income residents.

Todd Easton, City Council candidate, Ward 5
Somerville needs to be proactive to ensure future large scale development addresses current housing needs of all populations of the city. City policies should be designed in such a way that developers meet the needs of the city before their own financial gains. Development that caters to one particular segment of the population should be deterred.

Alexander Anderson, City Council candidate, Ward 7
A huge proportion of all of our challenges in Somerville relates to the lack of affordability in our community for so many people. With a limited supply of rental and for-sale housing all over the city, property is increasingly available only to the highest earners. This affordability crisis is amplified because of systems of oppression like racism, sexism, ableism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination disproportionately impact community members from historically disadvantaged groups. If we are able to address the affordability crisis – which to me involves a significant increase in housing supply by building new units and upgrading and updating existing units for all levels of affordability – we can relieve some of the pressures associated with renting or buying. When our housing system is operating on limited supply and the rental or buying experience is highly competitive, landlords, owners, etc. have the upper hand in decision making and will seek to maximize their position. All too often, this results in perpetuating the inequity between those with historic power and privilege and those who have been historically excluded from power and privilege. Making our community more affordable is necessary to advance fair housing in Somerville.

Additionally, we cannot talk about affordability in our community without talking about transportation and planning. Our streets connect all of our neighborhoods and are a reflection of decisions that prioritize cut-through car traffic at the expense of neighborhood affordability and population health. It is well established that cheap parking causes increases in home prices and that traffic and congestion is a public health challenge. The closer people live to high volume streets, the more likely they are to experience cancer, asthma, and learning disabilities in their life. Some of our community’s busiest and most driven streets are closet to our publicly supported housing buildings. People and families who are most likely to face discrimination in housing are also facing a disproportionate burden of the public health harms of traffic in our community. If we want to get to real affordability and improve the quality of life and health of people in our community, we must have an honest conversation about the harms we are all experiencing because of how we have prioritized cut-through traffic instead of fair housing and health in our community.

Becca Miller, City Council candidate, Ward 7
There are many links between affordability and fair housing. In general I believe we need to treat housing as a right rather than solely a wealth accumulating tool for those who can afford it. The start-up cost to rent a unit for tenants (often including first month, last month, a security deposit of one of ½ month’s rent, as well as one month’s brokers fee) are extremely high! For the average Somerville two bedroom apartment renting at $2,000 a month, this requires tenants to have $8,000 immediately on hand, a difficult sum for many working families. This cost leads to many working people choosing to not even apply for housing in Somerville. Many potential tenants with section 8 vouchers from Somerville are not able to find housing in the city because of the high cost of apartments, above what vouchers will cover. As rents have risen, many families are priced out from large (3-4 bedroom) apartments and may be discriminated against when landlords prefer other types of tenants.

Judy Pineda Neufeld, City Council candidate, Ward 7
Building and maintaining affordable housing stock is essential to creating a competitive market for renters and potential home buyers. This will allow tenants facing discrimination to more easily find new housing, and put pressure on landlords and sellers to ensure they are not violating the Fair Housing rights of buyers or of new and existing tenants. I also support the Fair Housing bill (HD.1990/SD.2220) at the State House, introduced by Representative Christine Barber and Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, which will ban exclusionary zoning practices that favor developing single family homes, and ensures communities can’t discriminate against housing developments that have affordable units or accommodations for children.

Maria Koutsoubaris, City Council candidate, Ward 7
The link seen is that control of properties is the general consensus to adopt by the administration focus. New guidelines easing the financial and ethical burdens that homeowners face is crucial to the economic future of the city finances.