Somerville Offering 5 Sessions About New Consolidated Rental Waitlist

SOMERVILLE, MA — The City of Somerville on Tuesday will be conducting the first of five scheduled information sessions, which are designed to help familiarize residents with the new Consolidated Rental Waitlist to apply for affordable housing.

Tuesday's session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at East Somerville Community School Auditorium, located at 50 Cross St. Additional sessions, all run by the City of Somerville Housing Division, will be conducted in person or via Zoom.

According to city officials, the waitlist is expected to be rolled out later in 2023 and will allow eligible residents to file just one application for upcoming affordable housing opportunities.

The current process forces households to submit individual applications for all rental opportunities, track each opportunity, meet deadlines and monitor the status of their applications for each opportunity. The waitlist is designed to streamline the process.

"Paperwork should never be a barrier to housing. We're so excited to make applying for affordable housing in Somerville easier for our community members," Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said.

At the sessions, participants will learn more about the preliminary application process, the benefits of the new system and a household's responsibilities once on the waitlist, according to organizers.

City officials said the goal of the sessions is to give participants enough lead time so they feel comfortable using the new system when it finally launches.

According to city, the Somerville Zoning Ordinance requires that 20 percent of all new housing in projects with four or more units be affordable housing. The new waitlist will apply to all new inclusionary rental units built after the waitlist, and be used to fill vacancies in existing units, officials said.

There currently are over 350 existing inclusionary units and over 400 scheduled to become available, officials said.

City officials pointed out that the waitlist only applies to Somerville inclusionary rental opportunities and not Somerville Housing Authority public housing units or below-market rental opportunities in neighboring municipalities.

The virtual and in-person information sessions will be available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Cantonese, Nepali and ASL. Additional translations are available via advance request to SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs or by calling 311 at 617-666-3311.

Here are the upcoming sessions, Zoom links and details about translations:

• 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at East Somerville Community School Auditorium, 50 Cross St., English with interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole.

• 2 p.m. Thursday, Zoom, English, Portuguese, simplified Chinese captions by request.

• 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Zoom, English with interpretation in Spanish and Portuguese. Plus, Spanish, Portuguese and Simplified Chinese captions by request.

• 6:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at West Somerville Neighborhood School Cafeteria, 177 Powder House Blvd., English with interpretation in Mandarin, Cantonese, Napali and ASL.

• 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 1 at East Somerville Community School Auditorium, 50 Cross. St. Translated into Spanish.