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
- Lower rentsThe resident asks for rents to come down because many people cannot afford them.2025–26City-wide
- Senior property tax rateThe resident asks for funding to develop a senior property tax rate, since seniors on fixed incomes struggle to keep their homes.2025–26City-wide
- Mattapan affordable housing and workforce opportunitiesResident asks the city to partner with Mattapan organizations and community development corporations to support affordable housing and provide education and workforce opportunities for youth, adults and seniors.2025–26Mattapan
- More funding for City of Boston housing vouchersResident asks for increased funding for the city's housing voucher program to prevent evictions as federal Section 8 funding is threatened, citing impact on low-income households and people of color.2025–26City-wide
- Deeply affordable units in new housing developmentsResident asks that new buildings include plenty of housing affordable to households under 50% of area median income, so minimum-wage residents can stay in their neighborhoods.2025–26City-wide
- Renovate abandoned houses to sellResident suggests finding abandoned houses, turning them into livable homes and selling them for a profit, since no one is using them.2025–26City-wide
- Better housing, schools and more public pollsResident wants better housing such as condos with porch, yard and parking, along with better schools and more local polls for the public.2025–26Mattapan
- Housing and anti-displacement support for residentsThe resident asks that $2M go to housing people or keeping residents in their homes, since luxury development raises property values and burdens low-income, immigrant and minority communities.2025–26City-wide
- More affordable housingThe resident asks for affordable housing without further detail.2025–26City-wide
- Programs for affordable housingResident asks for programs that provide affordable housing, saying everyone deserves access to housing.2024–25City-wide
- Rent control plus pothole and rodent fixesResident asks for rent caps, pothole repair, rodent control, tax refunds and traffic relief, citing high cost of living.2024–25City-wide
- More deeply affordable housing in mixed-income buildingsResident asks the city to build more deeply affordable housing for extremely low-income households within mixed-income developments, helping workers live closer to jobs.2024–25City-wide
- Rent control and limits on corporate landlordsResident asks for rent control in Greater Boston and limits on corporate landlords to make the city affordable, while preserving art spaces and nature.2024–25City-wide
- Fix mold and cover back rent in Franklin FieldResident asks to use $2 million to address mold and repairs in Franklin Field housing and pay off back rent for struggling tenants.2024–25Dorchester
- Renovate vacant state-subsidized housing unitsResident asks to renovate over 2,000 vacant state-subsidized housing units in the city so they are safe to occupy, since stable housing supports school, work and community life.2024–25City-wide
- Guaranteed basic income pilot for low-income residentsResident suggests a guaranteed basic income pilot, or other help with food or housing costs, to put money directly in the hands of people most in need.2024–25City-wide
- Housing vouchers for BPS grads working for CityResident proposes housing vouchers for BPS graduates who work for the City, to keep young people in Boston and make public service affordable.2024–25City-wide
- Group home for teen parents with child careResident proposes a group home for DCF-involved teen parents offering child care while they work or study, plus budgeting and cooking classes, to help them become successful parents.2024–25City-wide
- Cheaper housing, nursing homes and donation centersResident asks for more affordable housing, nursing homes and donation centers so families have accessible housing and people can get items and space in their neighborhood.2024–25City-wide
- Affordable housing for veterans and citizensResident asks for affordable housing for veterans and American citizens only.2024–25Roxbury