Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1496 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3386 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1496
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Daniel M. Donahue
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to residential assistance for families in transition (RAFT).
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Daniel M. Donahue16th Worcester1/17/2025 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3386 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1496
18	18	By Representative Donahue of Worcester, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1496) of
19	19	Daniel M. Donahue that the Department of Housing and Community Development administer
20	20	residential assistance for the Families in Transition Homelessness Prevention Program. Housing.
21	21	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
22	22	SEE HOUSE, NO. 1317 OF 2023-2024.]
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
26	26	(2025-2026)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act relative to residential assistance for families in transition (RAFT).
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 23B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official
32	32	2Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 30 the following section:-
33	33	3 Section 31. (a) Subject to appropriation, the department of housing and community
34	34	4development shall administer the residential assistance for families in transition homelessness
35	35	5prevention program for households whose incomes are at or below area median income and who
36	36	6are at risk of homelessness, eviction, foreclosure or utility shut-off within the next 12 months.
37	37	7For the purposes of this program, to receive cash benefits or other services, a household need not
38	38	8be subject to summary process under chapter 239 nor have received a shut-off notice from a
39	39	9utility company. Risk of eviction, foreclosure and utility shut-off may be determined by certified
40	40	10statements from the landlord, mortgage holder, utility company, or the applicant household 2 of 4
41	41	11verifying outstanding rent, mortgage or utility costs and the household’s current inability to pay
42	42	12said fees. The department shall set aside 50 per cent of the funds for households with incomes
43	43	13not greater than 30 per cent of area median income, but nothing in this section shall be construed
44	44	14so as to create a purpose in delaying awards to higher income households. Eligible households
45	45	15shall include, but not be limited to, families with children under the age of 21, elders, persons
46	46	16with disabilities, and unaccompanied youth. Services and cash benefits under the program shall
47	47	17be made available to households for the prevention of the loss of subsidized or unsubsidized
48	48	18housing. Cash benefits for arrearages shall not exceed the actual liability, but cash benefits shall
49	49	19not be limited to arrearages. Eligible households may receive benefits for short-term going-
50	50	20forward rental or utility payments to offset future costs, and to pay for other expenses that
51	51	21otherwise would leave the household at risk of homelessness, up to a total benefit equal to 12
52	52	22months’ rent. Lest the program act regressively in areas of opportunity, any budget established
53	53	23subsequent to this Act that establishes a cap on total benefit in dollar amounts shall be override
54	54	24the cap established in this section only to the extent that cap is greater than 12 months’ rent. Any
55	55	25regional administering agency shall be subject to the requirements of Chapter 30B. In
56	56	26administering the program, the department shall coordinate with the department of transitional
57	57	27assistance, member agencies and offices of the Massachusetts interagency council on housing
58	58	28and homelessness and the agencies contracted to administer the residential assistance for families
59	59	29in transition program on behalf of eligible households served by those agencies and offices so as
60	60	30streamline the application process, provide additional support services, and better promote
61	61	31upstream homelessness prevention and housing stability.
62	62	32 (b) The department shall annually, on or before December 31, issue a report on the rental
63	63	33and mortgage arrearage assistance program created by this section. The report shall be submitted 3 of 4
64	64	34to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means; the Joint Committee on Housing; and
65	65	35the House and Senate Clerks. The report shall include but not be limited to the following
66	66	36information:
67	67	37 (i) the referral source for each household and number of households referred by said
68	68	38source;
69	69	39 (ii) the number of applications requested, the number of applications completed, the
70	70	40number of applications approved;
71	71	41 (iii) the number of applications rejected and the reasons for denial;
72	72	42 (iv) the household income and demographic information for each qualifying household
73	73	43and its members. This information shall be provided by zip code and cumulatively;
74	74	44 (v) the monthly rent or mortgage liability for each qualifying household and the amount
75	75	45of each arrearage payment; and
76	76	46 (vi) the housing status of each qualifying household at six, twelve, and twenty-four
77	77	47months after receipt of services or cash benefits.
78	78	48 SECTION 2. Chapter 66 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
79	79	49Section 21 the following section:-
80	80	50 Section 22. Documents pertaining to rental assistance. In order to ensure the just, efficient
81	81	51and discrimination-free administration of housing services, a document made by the Department
82	82	52of Housing and Community Development or its agent, whether a Regional Administering
83	83	53Agency or other person or entity, pertaining to rental assistance in any form described under
84	84	54Chapter 23B or Chapter 151B Section 4, shall be considered a public record under this chapter to 4 of 4
85	85	55the extent it identifies the lessor, owner, manager or other recipient of funds, the precise address
86	86	56at which housing services were rendered, and the amount and dates of such assistance, provided
87	87	57however that the names of renters, tenants, subtenants, and other occupants of the premises at
88	88	58time of such assistance shall not be public records.