Boston Mayor Marty Walsh Floats Tenant Protection Petition

BOSTON, MA — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh offered a petition to the City Council Monday that he says is designed to protect certain tenants against arbitrary, unreasonable, discriminatory, or retaliatory evictions.

Called the Jim Brooks Stabilization Act, it targets renters of homeowners living in their homes post-foreclosure. It's also meant to help ensure that tenants and former homeowners are aware of their rights under state law, according to a mayor'a office press release.

"This legislation is just one piece of our larger, city-wide agenda to prevent displacement," Walsh said in the release. "It's critical that we strike a good balance between protecting tenants' rights and supporting them during challenging times, and recognizing the important role landlords play in the development and growth of our city."

Per the city, the petition codifies conditions under which landlords can evict a tenant or a former homeowner living in their foreclosed unit.

Those conditions include:

• Failing to pay rent
• Violating the lease terms
• Creating a nuisance or damaging the property
• Using the unit for illegal purposes
• Refusing to execute an extension/renewal of the current lease
• Refusing the landlord access to make repairs
• Having an unapproved subtenant
• If the landlord wants to take possession of the unit for his or her own use or for the use or occupancy of his or her immediate family member(s) to occupy.
• Former owner still living in a foreclosed home but refuses to pay reasonable rent

You can read the petition in full here. If passed by City Council, it would require approval from the State Legislature.

Image via Boston.gov