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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3386 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1496
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Daniel M. Donahue
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to residential assistance for families in transition (RAFT).
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Daniel M. Donahue16th Worcester1/17/2025 1 of 4
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3386 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1496
By Representative Donahue of Worcester, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1496) of
Daniel M. Donahue that the Department of Housing and Community Development administer
residential assistance for the Families in Transition Homelessness Prevention Program. Housing.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1317 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act relative to residential assistance for families in transition (RAFT).
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 23B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official
2Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 30 the following section:-
3 Section 31. (a) Subject to appropriation, the department of housing and community
4development shall administer the residential assistance for families in transition homelessness
5prevention program for households whose incomes are at or below area median income and who
6are at risk of homelessness, eviction, foreclosure or utility shut-off within the next 12 months.
7For the purposes of this program, to receive cash benefits or other services, a household need not
8be subject to summary process under chapter 239 nor have received a shut-off notice from a
9utility company. Risk of eviction, foreclosure and utility shut-off may be determined by certified
10statements from the landlord, mortgage holder, utility company, or the applicant household 2 of 4
11verifying outstanding rent, mortgage or utility costs and the household’s current inability to pay
12said fees. The department shall set aside 50 per cent of the funds for households with incomes
13not greater than 30 per cent of area median income, but nothing in this section shall be construed
14so as to create a purpose in delaying awards to higher income households. Eligible households
15shall include, but not be limited to, families with children under the age of 21, elders, persons
16with disabilities, and unaccompanied youth. Services and cash benefits under the program shall
17be made available to households for the prevention of the loss of subsidized or unsubsidized
18housing. Cash benefits for arrearages shall not exceed the actual liability, but cash benefits shall
19not be limited to arrearages. Eligible households may receive benefits for short-term going-
20forward rental or utility payments to offset future costs, and to pay for other expenses that
21otherwise would leave the household at risk of homelessness, up to a total benefit equal to 12
22months’ rent. Lest the program act regressively in areas of opportunity, any budget established
23subsequent to this Act that establishes a cap on total benefit in dollar amounts shall be override
24the cap established in this section only to the extent that cap is greater than 12 months’ rent. Any
25regional administering agency shall be subject to the requirements of Chapter 30B. In
26administering the program, the department shall coordinate with the department of transitional
27assistance, member agencies and offices of the Massachusetts interagency council on housing
28and homelessness and the agencies contracted to administer the residential assistance for families
29in transition program on behalf of eligible households served by those agencies and offices so as
30streamline the application process, provide additional support services, and better promote
31upstream homelessness prevention and housing stability.
32 (b) The department shall annually, on or before December 31, issue a report on the rental
33and mortgage arrearage assistance program created by this section. The report shall be submitted 3 of 4
34to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means; the Joint Committee on Housing; and
35the House and Senate Clerks. The report shall include but not be limited to the following
36information:
37 (i) the referral source for each household and number of households referred by said
38source;
39 (ii) the number of applications requested, the number of applications completed, the
40number of applications approved;
41 (iii) the number of applications rejected and the reasons for denial;
42 (iv) the household income and demographic information for each qualifying household
43and its members. This information shall be provided by zip code and cumulatively;
44 (v) the monthly rent or mortgage liability for each qualifying household and the amount
45of each arrearage payment; and
46 (vi) the housing status of each qualifying household at six, twelve, and twenty-four
47months after receipt of services or cash benefits.
48 SECTION 2. Chapter 66 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
49Section 21 the following section:-
50 Section 22. Documents pertaining to rental assistance. In order to ensure the just, efficient
51and discrimination-free administration of housing services, a document made by the Department
52of Housing and Community Development or its agent, whether a Regional Administering
53Agency or other person or entity, pertaining to rental assistance in any form described under
54Chapter 23B or Chapter 151B Section 4, shall be considered a public record under this chapter to 4 of 4
55the extent it identifies the lessor, owner, manager or other recipient of funds, the precise address
56at which housing services were rendered, and the amount and dates of such assistance, provided
57however that the names of renters, tenants, subtenants, and other occupants of the premises at
58time of such assistance shall not be public records.