(Foreclosures on rental properties are a big problem. Glad someone's paying attention. - promoted by David)
Last year, as Chair of the City Council Committee on Government Operations, I helped write legislation protecting tenants in foreclosed homes. Working with Councilor Chuck Turner, Mayor Menino, the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending, and Greater Boston Legal Services, we created a home rule petition that was unanimously approved by the City Council and signed by the Mayor. Unfortunately it died in Committee on Beacon Hill, along with other related foreclosure protection bills. When the Council passed that bill, we were reacting to a growing reality in Boston—half of all foreclosures in Boston take place in rented properties. Responsible tenants being evicted from their homes with no due process, no warning, and for no good reason. The public good for this law went beyond protecting the tenants, however—it protected entire neighborhoods. As the foreclosure crisis reaches never-before seen dimensions, we are working to pass this legislation again. We are strengthening it and expanding it to include homeowners and to provide an easier path for resale of foreclosed properties. Foreclosures and evictions lead to abandoned properties. Banks have left over 1,000 properties abandoned in Boston, having catastrophic impacts on neighborhoods. These abandoned homes provide easy opportunities for crime. They become homes for squatters and drug dealers, and lead to crashing property values and skyrocketing crime rates. The foreclosure crisis also tears apart the fabric of our communities. In March, I took a tour of the Four Corners area of Dorchester with people who’d been affected by foreclosure. The stories I heard that day were not of irresponsible homeowners, but of predatory lending practices that made it impossible for these hardworking individuals and families to keep their property. The law I am proposing will alleviate this crisis. This legislation allows former owners or tenants to remain in their homes, provided they pay full market value rent while in the property. As the foreclosing lender sells the property, the new owner has the right to request that tenants be removed. This legislation will: |
