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
- Give funds to City Life/Vida UrbanaResident asks that the entire $2 million go to City Life/Vida Urbana, which educates on housing rights and offers free legal support.2024–25City-wide
- Fund more housing lawyersResident asks for money for more lawyers, like those at Vida Urbana, to help people with housing problems, which affect immigrants and people of color.2024–25City-wideSubmitted in Spanish
- Utility bill help and housing lawyersResident asks for programs to help the Hispanic community pay electricity and gas bills, plus support for lawyers who help with housing issues.2024–25City-wideSubmitted in Spanish
- Fund City Life for tenant rights helpResident asks that funds go to City Life, which provides tenant rights information, legal advocacy and eviction counseling related to rent increases.2024–25City-wide
- Invest in City Life/Vida Urbana eviction supportResident asks to invest in City Life/Vida Urbana, which educates people facing eviction, connects them to housing lawyers and promotes social housing, to prevent displacement.2024–25City-wide
- Affordable housing run by City Life/Vida UrbanaResident asks that the budget fund affordable housing for low-income people, administered by City Life/Vida Urbana, which supports people facing eviction.2024–25City-wideSubmitted in Spanish
- Fund City Life/Vida Urbana housing justice workResident supports funding housing justice organizations like City Life/Vida Urbana that organize against displacement, especially in BIPOC and immigrant communities.2024–25City-wide
- Direct funds to housing and rent controlAmid a housing crisis, allocate funds to housing, supporting groups like City Life/Vida Urbana, and adopt rent control because housing is a human right.2024–25City-wideSubmitted in Spanish
- 12-month guaranteed basic income pilotProposes a one-year guaranteed basic income pilot for Boston's most housing- and economically insecure residents to help them meet basic needs.2024–25City-wide
- Voluntary rent control with property tax breaksProposes a voluntary program giving landlords real estate tax breaks if they keep rents below market, helping tenants and small landlords without mandatory rent control.2024–25City-wide
- Rent control for low-income housingEstablish rent control and guidelines for landlords to protect low-income renters and keep housing affordable.2024–25City-wide
- Landlord accountability program and tenant advocacy officeResident proposes a Tenant Advocacy Office offering free legal aid and an online platform for tenant reviews and landlord transparency to protect vulnerable renters.2024–25City-wide
- Higher tax on corporate purchases of single-family homesResident asks for a higher tax on corporations buying single-family homes, citing the housing crisis and outside investors hoarding housing.2024–25Jamaica Plain
- Sell West Roxbury High School for affordable housingResident proposes selling West Roxbury High School and developing affordable family apartments and retail with parking, using sale proceeds for city improvements.2024–25West Roxbury
- Affordable housing for minorities and homeless residentsProvide affordable housing to improve living situations for minority and homeless residents.2024–25City-wide
- Loans for move-in costsPilot interest-free, partly forgivable loans covering first month, last month and security deposit so residents can afford to move out of bad housing situations.2024–25City-wide
- Door-knocking organizers to prevent evictionsFund housing justice organizers to canvass areas with high eviction filings or luxury development and share residents' rights and resources to help families keep their homes.2024–25City-wide
- Emergency rental assistance programContinue the emergency rental assistance tried during COVID to prevent homelessness from missed rent, which disproportionately affects poor people of color.2024–25City-wide
- Simplify affordable housing applicationsWork with major affordable housing developers to redesign their applications, which are too hard to complete and disadvantage low-income and less-educated applicants.2024–25City-wide
- Fund for first, last and security depositResident proposes a fund covering first and last month's rent and security deposits, prioritizing low-income residents or using sliding-scale payments, to remove a barrier to housing.2024–25City-wide