Help us Bring a Housing Court to Cape Cod and The Islands!

We need your help, we need your voice.

Help us bring a Housing Court to Cape Cod and the Islands!  We need letters of support to go to MA Legislative Budget Conference Committee. You can help us protect women who rent.
(This bill is on CCICSW's priority legislation list for the 2017-2018 legislative session) 


This is an update on the progress of the Housing Court bill, Cape Cod does NOT have a Housing Court, this is important to women:

  The Housing Court is a layer of protection for women who rent. MA has adopted the key provisions of the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and parts are related to issues with landlords. Housing Courts are where women can enforce these protections. The Housing Court has judges and staff with expertise in housing law and who are trained to provide tenants and landlords with a fair court process. Both landlords and tenants can access the resources that only Housing Courts have, including the Tenancy Preservation Program, Lawyer for the Day Programs and Housing Specialists. Homeless can be prevented and municipalities can address serious housing and health code violations efficiently and effectively.

ACTION YOU CAN TAKE:

Housing Court Bill Goes to Budget Conference Committee
On May 25, Senate Ways and Chairwoman Senator Spilka made the case on the Senate floor for statewide housing court expansion and an amendment to strike the housing court from the Senate’s budget because of costs was withdrawn. Housing Court expansion advances to the FY2018 Budget Conference Committee thanks to Senator Spilka’s leadership. Thank you to those who reached out to key leaders, if you haven’t given your input it’s not too late. (Note: Bills are also still pending in the Judiciary Committee.)
Budget Negotiations Start Today, Monday, June 5.

The 6-member Budget Conference Committee is led by Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Karen Spilka: Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov  and House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey: Brian.Dempsey@mahouse.gov. Today, they start negotiations to reconcile the Senate and the House budgets. The other four members are Senators Sal DiDomenico: Sal.DiDomenico@masenate.gov and Vinny deMacedo: Vinny.deMacedo@masenate.gov  and Reps Stephen Kulik: Stephen.Kulik@mahouse.gov and Todd Smola: Todd.Smola@mahouse.gov .
Action Needed This Week – Please Help.

1. Send a letter to the Conference Committee. Use this sample letter or tell your own story.
2. It is critical that leadership gets a copy of your letter. Please “cc” House Speaker DeLeo Robert.DeLeo@mahouse.gov and Senate President Rosenberg  Stan.Rosenberg@masenate.gov
3. If you email your letter to Annette R. Duke, Esq. Housing Attorney, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute: ADuke@MLRI.org by Thursday, June 8 at 11 am, she will deliver it to all 8 elected officials that afternoon.
4. Ask your Rep and Senator to contact leadership and convey how much people in their districts want a Housing Court. It is unfair that some have access to a housing court and others do not.

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• Why Massachusetts Needs Housing Courts Statewide Briefing Paper
• Maps – Who Does Not Have a Housing Court and How the Bills Close the Gap
• Why Domestic Violence Advocates Want Housing Courts Statewide

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Welcome New Supporters
Housing Court 4 All Coalition has grown to close to 150 organizations and welcomes:

• Massachusetts Municipal Association
• Watertown Health Department
• Chelsea Fire Fighter Local 937
• Falmouth Human Services
• Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association
• Feldman Law, Boston

Please  invite organizations to Join the Growing List of Supporters for Statewide Housing Court.

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Contact Annette R. Duke, Esq. Housing Attorney, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute: ADuke@MLRI.org   with any questions.

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Please help us advocate for victims of domestic violence by establishing a local Housing Court

     The Housing Court is a layer of protection for women who rent. MA has adopted the key provisions of the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and parts are related to issues with landlords. Housing Courts are where women can enforce these protections. The Housing Court has judges and staff with expertise in housing law and who are trained to provide tenants and landlords with a fair court process. Both landlords and tenants can access the resources that only Housing Courts have, including the Tenancy Preservation Program, Lawyer for the Day Programs and Housing Specialists. Homeless can be prevented and municipalities can address serious housing and health code violations efficiently and effectively.
     Currently, one -third of the state’s population does not have access to Housing Court, including Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties. 
     An attempt was made to include funding for these courts in the budget this year.
Due to the extreme budgetary constraints this year, no housing court expansion budget amendment was filed in the House as part of the FY18 budget. Representative Walsh and Representative Donato are working on advancing the housing court expansion as legislation (House) H978 and (Senate) S946.
     The Cape Cod and Islands Commission on the Status of Women is among many organizations that now support the bills that are being filed. We are asking you to contact your legislators, see details below under "Next Steps."

This information is from Greater Boston Legal Services, in the form of advice for victims of domestic Violence:

How does VAWA protect me?
     VAWA means that a housing authority can not refuse to rent to you just because you are or were a victim of abuse.
     VAWA means that you can not be evicted from public housing just because of your abuser or your abuser’s actions.
     If you and your abuser live together, the housing authority can evict your abuser for his or her acts of abuse, but you must be allowed to stay. Acts of abuse include domestic violence, threats, dating violence or stalking.

Can I be evicted for violating my lease?
     Under VAWA, a housing authority can not evict you for violating your lease because you are a victim of abuse.
     It also can not evict you for criminal activity related to domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking.
     But, a housing authority could evict you for serious or repeated lease violations that are unrelated to domestic abuse.

What can the housing authority do?
      A housing authority can evict you if it can prove that other tenants or staff are in actual and imminent (immediate) danger that cannot be addressed by security or other steps. If the housing authority can prove this, you could be evicted even if you are a victim of domestic abuse.
     But without proven danger, the housing authority can not evict you or penalize you in any way.
     Also, the housing authority can not hold you to a more demanding set of rules than it uses for tenants who are not victims of abuse.

From Annette R. Duke, Esq.,Housing Attorney,Massachusetts Law Reform Institute:
 (Find your legislators here, after typing your info into the search form, at the bottom of the list under "District Representatives" click on the link for your State Representative and State Senator)

Next Steps