Affordable housing & rent stability
Consistent priorityKeeping housing affordable and stable through new affordable units, rent relief, vouchers and tenant legal help.
Residents consistently ask for more truly affordable homes, help paying rent, limits on rent increases, and housing support for young people.
Theme grouped and summary written with AI from this theme's resident ideas.
202 ideas across three cycles
| Cycle | Ideas | Share of all ideas | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 73 | 6.0% | 6 of 20 |
| 2025–26 | 60 | 5.0% | 6 of 20 |
| 2026–27 | 69 | 5.2% | 7 of 20 |
Needs that keep coming back
More affordable housing
Residents ask the City to build and fund more housing that low-income and working families can actually afford, including units for very low incomes.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Rent assistance and vouchers
Residents ask for rent help, emergency assistance and more City housing vouchers to keep people housed and prevent homelessness.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Rent control or limits on rent increases
Residents ask for rent control, caps or stabilization so long-time residents are not priced out of their neighborhoods.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Housing help for young people
Residents ask for vouchers, rent help and low-cost housing for teens and young adults who lack stable housing.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Tenant legal help and eviction prevention
Residents ask for lawyers, tenant-rights education and organizing support to help renters facing eviction or unfair landlords.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26
2024–25
Many ideas called for funding eviction defense and tenant legal aid, especially City Life/Vida Urbana, alongside move-in cost help, vouchers and rent control.
2025–26
Ideas were mostly broad calls for more affordable housing and lower rents, with new worries about federal Section 8 cuts and a shrinking RAFT emergency fund.
2026–27
Many entries were short, general mentions of housing, often paired with food or health, plus specific asks for rent help regardless of immigration status and for youth and single-parent support.
New in 2026–27
New or growing asks include rent help regardless of immigration status, a rent fund for immigrant households facing eviction after detention or deportation, and help with Section 8 and housing recertification.
Funding so far
The winning youth rental assistance pilot and the flexible housing stability fund address the recurring asks for rent help and youth housing support, but no winning project yet addresses new affordable housing construction, rent limits or tenant legal help.
Projects are linked to themes by matching each project's description to the themes; this is not an official City classification.
Rental Assistance for Boston Youth
2024–25 · $200,000
This proposal will fund a pilot rental assistance program for Boston residents between the ages of 16-24 to stabilize their housing situation.
Bridging the Gap: Assistance for Housing Stability
2025–26 · $200,000 · related theme
This proposal establishes a flexible funding pool to help Boston residents at risk of or experiencing homelessness to secure or maintain housing.
Departments that often lead this work
- Mayor's Office of Housing
Suggested with AI; not an official assignment of responsibility.
Ideas in Affordable housing & rent stability
202 ideas
2024–25: 73 · 2025–26: 60 · 2026–27: 69
- More affordable housing and apartmentsResident asks for more affordable housing and apartments to increase residents' spending power and reduce homelessness.2026–27City-wide
- More housing resourcesProvide more housing resources for residents.2026–27DorchesterSubmitted in Korean
- Public senior and disabled housing with healthcareBuild government-owned and operated public housing for seniors and disabled people with adjacent subsidized healthcare, to reduce homelessness risk among those without care access.2026–27City-wide
- Vacancy tax on residential and commercial propertiesThe resident proposes a vacancy tax on empty residential and commercial properties so housing can be provided to people who need it, improving social equity.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Korean
- Heat pump and solar rebates for landlordsResident proposes a rebate program for landlords to install heat pumps and solar panels, cutting emissions and lowering tenant utility costs.2026–27City-wide
- Affordable housingResident asks for affordable housing because most people cannot afford market prices and end up in poor, unhealthy housing.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Portuguese
- Affordable housing in every communityResident asks for affordable housing to provide stable housing for residents in each community.2026–27City-wide
- Put funding into affordable housingThe resident asks that funds go to affordable housing because working-class and marginalized people can't afford to keep living in Boston.2026–27City-wide
- Rent help for low-income people regardless of statusProposes a project to help low-income people pay rent, regardless of immigration status.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Portuguese
- Rent help for low-income people regardless of statusProposes a project to help low-income people pay rent, regardless of immigration status.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Portuguese
- Investment to lower rentsAsks for investment aimed at lowering rents, to benefit all low-income residents.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Portuguese
- Rent assistance and rent increase limits programResident asks the city to create a program that helps people pay rent or keeps rent from rising over the years, so families work less to afford housing and fewer become homeless.2026–27Mission HillSubmitted in Spanish
- Rent fund for immigrants facing evictionResident asks for a rent support fund for immigrant households facing eviction after lost income from a member's detention or deportation, linked to eviction defense groups.2026–27City-wide
- Simplify housing applications for disabled adultsResident asks the City to make applying for housing easier for disabled adults, saying the CHAMP database is confusing and local agencies only redirect people to other agencies that deny services.2026–27City-wide
- Financial help for tenants pushed out by rent hikesResident asks for financial support to individual and business tenants unofficially evicted through steep rent increases, arguing the city should protect them from predatory landlords.2026–27City-wide
- Help paying rent in Allston and BrightonResident asks for rent payment assistance for all residents of Allston and Brighton.2026–27BrightonSubmitted in Portuguese
- Fund for renters to mason-fix foundation cracks against ratsResident proposes a fund letting renters hire masons to repair foundation cracks that harbor rats, improving health, supporting construction jobs and prioritizing local Black- and brown-owned masons.2026–27City-wide
- Affordable rent with in-unit laundry and utilities includedThe resident asks that housing units include in-unit washer/dryers and utilities like heat at truly affordable rents so families can stay in the city; lotteries are not enough.2026–27City-wide
- Rent help for young people without resourcesResident asks for help paying rent for young people who lack resources.2026–27City-wide
- Retrofit old housing projectsResident asks to retrofit old housing projects to create safer living conditions.2026–27DorchesterSubmitted in Korean