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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2932 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1571
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Erika Uyterhoeven
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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 to make home repair affordable and stabilize communities.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex1/16/2025 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2932 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1571
By Representative Uyterhoeven of Somerville, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
1571) of Erika Uyterhoeven for legislation to make home repair affordable and stabilize
communities. Housing.
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 to make home repair affordable and stabilize communities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 23B of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
2 Section 37. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall, unless the
3context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
4 “Affordable unit”, a unit where the rent is affordable to a tenant at or below 60 per cent
5of the area median income adjusted for household size as defined by the executive office.
6 “Applicant”, a nonprofit or governmental entity that serves 1 or more cities or towns.
7 “Executive office”, the executive office of housing and livable communities.
8 “Habitability concern”, home repairs that are required to ensure that residential units are:
9(i) fit for human habitation; (ii) free from defective conditions of health and safety hazards,
10including asbestos, mold, pests and lead; or (iii) free of conditions preventing the installation of
11measures to improve energy or water efficiency and lower utility costs. 2 of 3
12 “Small landlord”, a person who: (i) is a landlord; (ii) has an ownership stake in no more
13than 5 properties and no more than 15 rental units; and (iii) rents the properties or units under
14clause (ii) for use as a primary residence for a fee, regardless of the length or form of lease.
15 (b) The executive office shall establish the whole home repairs program. In administering
16the whole home repairs program, the executive office shall coordinate with existing federal and
17state resources relating to home repairs. The executive office may develop and publish guidelines
18to implement the whole home repairs program. The executive office and grantees may receive up
19to 4 per cent each for administrative costs to implement this subsection from money appropriated
20for the whole home repairs program. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit an
21applicant that receives funds from the program under this section from subgranting the funds to
22another entity approved by the executive office to perform any of the purposes specified in
23subsection (c), (d) or (e). An applicant that subgrants the funds to another entity shall notify the
24executive office and the executive office shall maintain a list of the applicants and subgrantees
25contact information on its publicly accessible website.
26 (c) An applicant who receives funds from the whole home repairs program shall make
27grants available to homeowners whose household income does not exceed 80 per cent of the area
28median income and shall make loans available to small landlords renting affordable units and
29recorded against a residential property in a mortgage security. A single grant to a homeowner or
30a single loan to a small landlord may not exceed $50,000 per owner occupied or rental unit and
31may be used to address habitability concerns, improve energy or water efficiency or to make
32units accessible for individuals with disabilities. 3 of 3
33 (d)(1) A loan to a small landlord under subsection (c) may be forgiven if: (i) the small
34landlord offered a 3-year extension of the lease to a tenant occupying a unit when the funds were
35accepted by the small landlord; (ii) annual increases in monthly rent have not exceeded 3 per
36cent of the base rent or the unit has been occupied by a tenant participating in the federal
37Housing Choice Voucher Program for a period of no less than 15 years; (iii) in the prior 15
38years, the small landlord has not committed a serious violation with regard to the small landlord's
39rental property that the small landlord has taken no substantial steps to correct the violation; and
40(iv) the small landlord has maintained ownership of the unit for a period of no less than 15 years.
41 (2) The applicant shall recapture a loan not forgiven under this subsection.
42 (e) An applicant who receives funds from the whole home repairs program shall use the
43funds to do all of the following:
44 (i) administer the program under this section, including staff, implementing systems and
45data management tools designed to maximize enrollment in all existing home repair programs
46administered by nonprofit organizations, governmental entities and public utilities; and
47 (ii) invest in work force development programs that will connect trainees to jobs through
48committed employer partnerships related to improving the habitability and performance of
49homes, including cash stipends for trainees and costs related to the design and implementation of
50pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship and publicly funded on-the-job training programs.