Housing Advocates Push City Council for Moratorium on Foreclosures

BOSTON/Government Center - On Tuesday, over 60 housing advocates, tenants and supporters attended a hearing of the City Council's Committee on Government Operations organized by the Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending to push for a number of reforms to municipal and state housing policy. City Council president Michael Ross and Councilors Turner, Feeney (chair) and Connolly listened to testimony from a panel of housing experts assembled by MAAPL for well over an hour. The speakers stressed the need for a tenant protection law to stop evictions of responsible tenants, a judicial review law that will mandate a court hearing before banks are allowed to foreclose on homeowners, a 6-month moratorium on foreclosures, and a mediation law that would force banks to make a good faith effort to mediate with homeowners and tenants before foreclosing properties and evicting anyone. They also encouraged the City Council to pass home rule petitions to enact such protections in the City of Boston. Advocates hope for passage of the petitions by the full City Council later this year.

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