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

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?

William Tauro, Candidate for Mayor

It is very important for landlords, property managers, real estate agents to be reminded of the Fair Housing Law. Every real estate office licensed to work in Massachusetts should have Fair Housing posters and flyers in different languages stating the law. The Fair Housing Law should also be on their web sites. All city departments dealing with housing should disseminate the Fair Housing Law as a part of their interactions with residents.

It’s important to have workshops where landlords and tenants learn their rights and responsibilities. I have known people who have been squeezed out of Somerville because a house was sold, and the new owner doubled their rent; I have known people who had to move out of Somerville because the property manager upped the rent to an unsustainable level that can be met by two unrelated professionals in the unit but not a family. I want to generate more commercial tax revenue to take the burden off landlords and more reasonable rents for tenants.

Matthew Hunt, Candidate for City Council, Ward 1

Landlords, sellers, property managers, and real estate agents could certainly benefit from further training on the letter of the law when it comes to Fair Housing but also there needs to be an examination culturally of how we approach housing and development. We should be working towards a model that prioritizes a Somerville that will be sustainably vibrant and diverse.

Naima Sait, Candidate for City Council, Ward 5

The most consequential piece of knowledge that landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and homeowners could have to ensure compliance with Fair Housing law is that swift, certain consequences will accrue to violations. Policies that lead toward real, widespread accountability include the adoption and distribution to all new tenants, every year, of a Tenants’ Bill of Rights; significant expansion of the Inspectional Services Department and expansion of its mission to include proactive enforcement and timely responses to tenants’ grievances; and significant expansion of the Office of Housing Stability to include a staff of attorneys ready and able to assist tenants and prospective tenants in housing discrimination disputes.

Jack Connolly, Candidate for City Council, Ward 6

The most important thing that these people need to know is that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. The City of Somerville has a responsibility to protect and respect residents whether they already live here or hope to live here in the near future. It is paramount that the City of Somerville assures that housing discrimination is abolished and it will not be tolerated by anyone.

Wilfred Mbah, Candidate for City Council At Large

First, it is essential that the existence and work of the Somerville Fair Housing Commission and the state Fair Housing Law be well-publicized to all the professionals involved in property sales and leasing, as well as to all residents as buyers and lessees. I support the on-going efforts of the Commission to fill the seat that is vacant in the fall of 2023; and to receive sufficient staffing from the city’s housing stabilization and legal departments.

Second, I will fully support the efforts, now under way, to increase the powers of the Fair Commission, which is now limited to a broad educational mission and a role of first line investigation, support and referral for services for the residents who bring complaints about housing discrimination. Some other cities have given their Fair Housing Commissions enforcement powers by Home Rule or ordinance. This is at the study stage in Fall 2023. I will be a strong supporter of this effort and insure that it moves ahead with whatever actions and funding are needed.

Question 4: What do you see as the link between affordability and Fair Housing in Somerville?

William Tauro, Candidate for Mayor

The percentage of income spent on housing helps define affordability. Housing cost burdens of 30% – 50% severely burden Somerville residents many of whom are on fixed incomes or are of low income. Bidding wars on real estate, high income young professionals, expanding rapid transit makes Somerville housing costs over 150% higher than national housing costs. People of modest income, frequently immigrants and minorities, don’t stand a chance of living in Somerville unless they are helped with rents adjusted for income. I think the Affordable Housing Trust Fund needs to be looked at and expanded to help with this.

Matthew Hunt, Candidate for City Council, Ward 1

Affordability and Fair Housing and inextricably linked. Protected classes in Fair Housing law are significantly more likely to be economically disenfranchised and lack of access to affordable housing further marginalizes these communities.

Naima Sait, Candidate for City Council, Ward 5

Affordability and Fair Housing make each other meaningful: Discrimination via pricing reifies all of the structural inequalities in our society, and while discrimination based on identity cuts across all income brackets it cuts deeper at brackets whose inhabitants have fewer resources and fewer options. Somerville is already home to a number of organizations that strive to make housing more affordable at the margins; the City must increase funding to the Office of Housing Stability and to the organizers at the Community Action Agency of Somerville and at the Welcome Project to make sure that the services to find and keep housing are available to all tenants. The Somerville Community Land Trust is working to build a housing portfolio outside the market and the City should support it with funding and land grants. The City should also explore the creation of a municipally-owned-and-operated real estate development agency to directly construct City-owned mixed-income housing which reserve much larger fractions of units at more-deeply affordable price levels than are required by the inclusionary zoning ordinance.

Jack Connolly, Candidate for City Council, Ward 6

The link between affordable and fair housing is availability; There is not enough housing units to meet the overwhelming demand. Somerville must work hand in hand with the Somerville Housing Authority and the real estate development community to provide incentives such as real estate tax credits, to build more housing units with the current affordable requirements percentage.

As we build more in this city, we need to strive to build a city that people can afford to live in.

Wilfred Mbah, Candidate for City Council At Large

Many of the households that fall into the groups, protected by Fair Housing are also lower income, thus, when they are shut out of the regular housing market by discriminatory practices, they turn to the subsidized and housing programs. This increases the demand for the limited numbers of units that are offered by the public and non-profit programs, adding more families to the waiting lists and further discouraging applicants. Individuals and families should not be forced into subsidized housing as the remedy for encountering discrimination.

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