Join us in taking action to get truly affordable housing and rent control!
Tell the Mayor, BPDA, and
Office of Housing: We Need
Truly Affordable Housing in the IDP!
The Mayor is proposing to increase the rule that 13% of units in new private developments are affordable. The proposed change is to require that 17% of apartments are affordable (plus 3% set aside for voucher holders) and 20% of condos.
However, the rent and prices in the proposed units are still extremely high compared to what residents can truly afford. The City must change the IDP to include truly affordable housing that matches residents' incomes, and increase the 17% requirement!
More details:
In December, Mayor Wu announced changes to the Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP). IDP was first created in 2000 and hasn’t been updated since 2015. The Coalition for a Truly Affordable Boston (CTAB) believes that Mayor Wu’s proposal falls short of the dramatic improvements that are needed. Most of the IDP units are still not actually affordable to Boston residents who are struggling. Read the full CTAB statement here. Go to slides 12-21 to see the proposed changes in the city's full proposal.
We have identified the following ways to strengthen the IDP, to benefit those most impacted by racism and the displacement crisis.
Lower the AMI’s for rental units from an average of 60% AMI to an average of 40% AMI, and lower the AMI’s for ownership units from 80-100% AMI to reach 50-100% AMI.
Increase the 17% affordability requirement for rental units to a higher percentage. The need is at least 33%, much higher than 17%.
The IDP proposal should also include these changes:
Increasing the ownership requirement of 13% in Zone C (including Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan) to match Zone A and B, and making any 40% AMI rental requirement strong in Zone C rather than weakening requirements in Zone C or citywide.
The 17% rental requirement should be increased, and on top of that higher number, the City should require units for mobile voucher holders as well as require using City vouchers.
Include a plan to automatically strengthen IDP each year after 2023.
Require permanently affordable units
For more info on IDP:
Boston’s Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) requires that new residential developments that have 10 or more units, make 13% of those units "affordable." Alternatively, the developer can pay money into an affordable housing fund.
IDP unit rents are set at about 70% of the Area Median Income, which is not affordable to Boston residents at most risk of displacement, who are disproportionately Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). For a family of four, 70% AMI is a household income maximum of $98,150, with a three bedroom maximum rent of $1,869. The high income restrictions have a disproportionate effect on BIPOC renters in Boston. Only 33% of white renters have incomes lower than 60% AMI whereas 77% of Black renters, 75% of Latinx renters, and 64% of Asian renters have incomes lower than 60% AMI.
So not only does using high AMI’s exclude many Boston residents, but it discriminates against people of color. The Coalition for a Truly Affordable Boston believes that IDP units must be much more deeply affordable, so that they are accessible to people at most risk of displacement.
Boston City Council Passed Rent Control March 8th!
Reclaim Roxbury has been a part of the movement to revive rent control since 2015. We are proud to see the Mayor Wu Administration moving this policy forward. We submitted testimony at a hearing on 2/22 as well as formal testimony to the Wu administration and all city councilors with our recommendations to strengthen the policy, and on 3/8 a final version was passed!
NEXT STEPS:
After the Mayors proposal is approved by the city council it will go onto the state house for approval, and if approved at the state house, will go to the Governors desk.
We need you in this movement !
In order for rent control to pass in Boston, we need to lift the ban statewide. We are apart of the Homes for All Massachusetts coalition working to lift the statewide ban. We have filed bills in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature and need your support making sure they get passed!
Please contact your state rep and state senator to cosign our bills!
Do you have a story about an unfair increase in your rent?
Please contact us if you have a story you'd like to share!
Want to learn more about the bills and the Homes for All Massachusetts coalition? Click here
