H. 1242 An Act To Prevent Homelessness By

							                       H. 1242: An Act To Prevent Homelessness
                      By Removing Barriers to Subsidized Housing
              Lead Sponsors: Representative Carl Sciortino, Senator Anthony Galluccio

An ambitious effort to end homelessness in the Commonwealth, led by the Interagency Council on Housing and
Homelessness (ICHH), is underway. H. 1242 complements this effort by providing critical tools to ensure
homeless families and individuals not only get the temporary assistance they need now, but gain access to
permanent affordable housing and long-term stability.

Massachusetts has an exploding homeless population—there are currently more than 3,000 families and 3,300
individuals in homeless shelters across the state. But, with hundreds of different housing agencies, there is little
consistency in how these agencies treat homeless families and individuals with regards to housing placement.
As a result, too often the applicants who need permanent housing the most are being turned away, and remain
stuck in shelters or unsafe living situations.

H. 1242 standardizes some aspects of the application process, and institutes several measures to preserve
affordable tenancies. Many of the features of the bill are already in place in some housing programs; H. 1242
takes the best practices of many programs and expands those statewide. Features include:

 H. 1242 establishes a statewide priority in most housing programs for persons who are homeless or at
imminent risk of homelessness: Many individual housing programs have created priorities for placing
homeless families in need; other housing programs have none. H. 1242 creates a modest, state-wide definition
for a homeless/at-risk priority for all permanent housing programs, so that each affordable housing program
works on an equal footing to house a fair share of homeless or at-risk applicants. This legislation also makes it
clear that any family or individual receiving a temporary subsidy will remain eligible for a homeless preference.

 H. 1242 creates reasonable standards for housing programs to evaluate applicant’s history, including
credit and rental history: Homeless families are often denied housing because of unrealistic reliance on
“suitability” factors, such as credit, housing, and criminal history. The bill does not remove the ability of
housing programs to screen potential tenants, but it does encourage housing providers to work with applicants to
surmount modest access barriers where safeguards are in place to help with future lease compliance. For
example, H. 1242 prohibits reliance on bad credit reports as a reason to deny an applicant housing where the
applicant has a good history of paying rent. And if there is a history of non-payment, H. 1242 requires a housing
program consider why the applicant fell behind on rent (such as illness or job loss). H. 1242 also requires that
DHCD define what is a reasonable period to look back at negative conduct in order to deny an applicant.

 H. 1242 prohibits housing providers from denying admission to victims of domestic violence because
of their status: This provision mirrors the federal Violence Against Women Act, which already prohibits such
discrimination in federal housing programs.

 H. 1242 requires housing providers to accept electronic fund transfer payments from applicants and
tenants to pay for rent or debts owed: Electronic payments are an excellent strategy to increase the
likelihood that tenants meet their rent bills, and H. 1242 requires that housing programs accept electronic third
party payments for rent. This section will not cost the program anything to administer, and is already used
successfully by some housing providers.

 H. 1242 allows public and subsidized housing applicants and tenants to designate a third party to
receive notices concerning their applications and tenancies: This can help homeless clients with advocates
to secure housing, and tenants with disabilities to mediate disputes and avoid homelessness. This provision
mirrors a recent change in federal law.


                       For more information, contact MLRI, 617-357-0700 (Debbie Silva x340 or Amy Copperman x323)
                                                                                                     October, 2009
          Co-Sponsors                                  Organizational Supporters
           of H. 1242                                         of H. 1242

Rep. William Brownsberger                          AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts
Sen. Patricia Jehlen                               Boston Tenants Organization
Rep. Denise Provost                                Cambridge Economic Opportunity
Rep. Matthew Patrick                               Committee
Sen. James Eldridge                                Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services
Rep. Timothy Toomey                                Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance
Rep. Cleon Turner                                  Community Action Agency of Somerville
Rep. Kay Khan                                      Crittenden Women’s Union
Rep. Mary Grant                                    Family Economic Initiative
Rep. Alice Wolf                                    Greater Boston Legal Services
Rep. Paul McMurtry                                 Homes for Families
Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein                          MassCAP (Massachusetts Association for
Rep. Tom Sannicandro                               Community Action)
Rep. Paul Donato                                   Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Rep. Barbara L’Italien                             Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Rep. Thomas Conroy                                 National Association of Social Workers,
Rep. Jay Kaufman                                   MA Chapter
Rep. Sean Garballey                                North Shore Community Action Program
Rep. Ellen Story                                   Pine Street Inn
Rep. James O’Day                                   Somerville Homeless Coalition
                                                   St. Mary’s Shelter
                                                   Tri-City Community Action Program




             For more information, contact MLRI, 617-357-0700 (Debbie Silva x340 or Amy Copperman x323)
                                                                                           October, 2009