See the full Act here

SECTION 35.  Section 34 of said chapter 121B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the tenants of a state-aided or federally-aided public housing project transferred or conveyed pursuant to the fourteenth paragraph shall maintain all rights pursuant to federal, state and local subsidy programs originally applicable to the project, including tenant contribution, lease terms, eviction, right to return, grievance, resident participation, preference in hiring and privacy rights, except as may be required to secure financing necessary for the feasibility of the project or to meet associated programmatic eligibility requirements after notice to affected tenants with an opportunity to comment. The redevelopment of such public housing project shall not be the basis for: (i) termination of assistance or eviction of any tenant; (ii) reduction of assistance or eviction of any tenant; or (iii) re-screening any existing tenant; provided, that no existing tenant shall be considered a new admission for any purpose, including, but not limited to, compliance with any income targeting requirements. Any such project shall have at least the same number of low rent housing units as the number of low rent housing units in the existing project. The requirements of this paragraph shall be implemented through contracts, use agreements, regulations or other means, as determined by the department. Any contracts, use agreements, regulations or other means shall be in compliance with all applicable local, state and federal subsidy programs and shall delineate: (i) the roles of the housing authority and other agencies in monitoring and enforcing compliance, including tracking temporary and permanent displacement; (ii) how the housing authority shall rehouse tenants so there shall be no displacement from affordable housing programs operated by the housing authority; and (iii) how tenants shall be provided with technical assistance to facilitate meaningful input related to the redevelopment of the proposed project. The benefits of any contracts, use agreements, regulations or other means shall inure to any tenant who occupied a unit within the project at the time of the transfer or conveyance of the project. Protections relating to tenant contribution, lease terms, eviction, grievance, resident participation, preference in hiring and privacy rights, except as may be required to secure financing necessary for the feasibility of the project or to meet associated programmatic eligibility requirements, shall inure to both present or future tenants or applicants of the project, who shall have the right to enforce the same as third-party beneficiaries. Nothing in this section shall create a separate or new administrative process of appeal or review for any grievance governed by the lease of any tenant. Tenants shall have an opportunity for comment on a project proposed under the fourteenth paragraph and an opportunity for public comment to be organized by the owners, controlled entities, designated private entities or public housing authorities responsible for such projects with adequate notice.

Earlier this summer, MassLegalHelp.org posted an updated booklet on Rent in Public Housing. The booklet is available in the following languages:

• • • English

    • Spanish

    • Portuguese

This booklet includes important updates and is intended for both state and federal public housing tenants, including those facing redevelopment. A special note for federal tenants: Legislation passed by Congress in 2016 called the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) made major changes to how rents are set in federal public housing and Section 8. However, HUD has not yet implemented all of the HOTMA rules. This means that certain pre-HOTMA rent rules are still in effect. To keep this straight, the booklet has legal citations in the endnotes to both pre-HOTMA rules (now in effect) and HOTMA final rules (will go into effect when HOTMA is implemented). When HOTMA changes become effective, Legal Services will update this booklet.

Mass Union is deeply grateful to Annette Duke from Mass Law Reform who spearheaded this update, along with Ryan Kenney, Susan Hegel, Mac McCreight and Salomon Campos-Rice from the Greater Boston Legal Services and Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services.

To learn more about rent updates, join us at Mass Union’s Convention where we will have a workshop on this topic with Annette, Susan, and Mac. Read all about the Convention here.

Use Your Tenant Organization Funds

With your community, be sure to budget a portion of your tenant participation funds for the convention and Public Housing Day. Remember to also budget for transportation, such as an Uber or mileage reimbursement. You can send board members or other tenants – it’s your call. Just be sure to use a fair and transparent process for deciding which tenants will attend.

Ask Your Housing Authority to Sponsor

Over thirty Housing Authorities have directly paid to send tenants to our events. Ask yours to join this growing list! They will be recognized in our materials and on signage at the event. Read about sponsorship tiers here. The higher the sponsorship, the greater the recognition. Give your LHA the chance to earn this great publicity and be seen in front of our community and important policy-makers!

Look for Community Sponsors

Any organization can sponsor the convention, not just Housing Authorities. You can ask a local bank or shop for a sponsorship or sell them an ad for the program book. Any funds you raise will cover your registration costs, and the sponsor will get all the publicity benefits.

In keeping with our bylaws, Mass Union is holding a director election at our 2025 Convention. The election will be held on Sunday, October 5 as part of our Annual Meeting. The Meeting will run from 10am-12pm.

In odd-numbered years we hold director elections and in even-numbered years, we hold officer elections. The officers are the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer. All other members of the board are considered “directors.” This election will be for them. Here is the quote from our bylaws:

“At the Annual Meeting held in odd-numbered years, the affiliates shall elect between four (4) and eight (8) directors, depending upon the number of qualifying nominations received. If fewer than eight (8) qualifying nominations are received, the President shall present a smaller slate, provided that the number of nominees shall be at least four (4).”

Members of our affiliates may run for the director seats. You do not need to be an LTO board member to run. Any tenant in an LTO that is a member of Mass Union may run. Please see additional information about eligibility on page 5 of our bylaws.

Nominations are due on September 15, 2025.  The Election is being overseen by an impartial Election Committee made up of people who are not running for a seat.

How to Run

You may nominate yourself or another eligible member of one of our affiliates. If you nominate someone else, we will confirm that they would like to run before circulating their nomination. Submit the nominee’s name, contact information, and the name of her/his/their affiliate (LTO) to info@massunion.org by 5pm on September 15, 2025. Please also send a photo and brief statement (not to exceed one half page) about the candidate.

Fall 2025 Convention Election Rules and Procedure

As adopted by the Election Committee, July 22, 2025

BYLAWS

ARTICLE V: ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MASS UNION

Section 6: Voting and Participation: Each affiliate shall be entitled to one (1) vote. A majority vote of the affiliates that constitutes a quorum[1] as defined in these By-Laws shall be the required vote unless otherwise specifically stated herein.

A simple majority of votes cast shall be necessary to conduct all regular business of the Mass Union, to adopt the By-Laws and to elect members of the Board.

ARTICLE VI: THE BOARD

Section 6: Elections: Paragraph 2: At the Annual Meeting held in odd-numbered years, the affiliates shall elect between four (4) and eight (8) directors, depending upon the number of qualifying nominations received. If fewer than eight (8) qualifying nominations are received, the President shall present a smaller slate, provided that the number of nominees shall be at least four (4). The candidates receiving the highest number of votes, up to the number of directors to be elected as determined by the Board, shall be elected. If there are eight (8) or more nominees, and there is a tie between the eighth and ninth-placed candidates, there shall be a run-off between those two candidates. At the Annual Meeting held in even-numbered years, affiliates shall elect five (5) officers from current Board members in accordance with Article VII, Section 1. Any additional election procedures shall be adopted by the Board before the Nomination period begins. Once the affiliates are notified of the Nomination period, no changes may be made to the procedures.

ADDITIONAL RULES

In addition to the rules listed above in our bylaws, the Committee has created the following two rules for this election. Please note that because we sent nominations to the affiliates in advance of the Convention, we will not be able to take nominations from the floor of the Convention.

1. 1. You must be present at the Convention to run.

If extenuating circumstances arise and a candidate can no longer attend, the candidate can alert a board or staff member at Mass Union. Their circumstances will be explained to the affiliates for a vote, and the affiliates will decide whether to allow the candidate to run.

2. 2. Candidates may distribute materials at the Convention, with three caveats:

1. No negative statements are allowed about the other candidates.
2. No promotion of business interests.
3. Endorsements from present or former Mass Union staff are not allowed.

ELECTION PROCEDURE

1. 1. Review of Election Procedure

The President or his designee will name and thank the Election Committee members and review the procedure below.

2. Director Election

A. CANDIDATE SPEECHES

The candidates will each be invited to sit at the front of the room, and each will be invited to make a two-minute speech.

B. VOTING

This year Mass Union received seven nominees for the eight available seats on our board. Please see information about the nominees here.

Because the number of seats exceeds the number of nominees, affiliates will vote for the entire slate at once. Further details will be announced at the election on October 5.

Thank you to the nominees!

—

[1] A quorum is one-third of the affiliates.

Presenting Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Transportation Sponsors

Gold Sponsor

Silver SponsorsHonorable Mentions

Bridgewater Housing Authority
Chelmsford Housing Authority
Malden Housing Authority
Northampton Housing Authority
Needham Housing Authority
Salem Housing Authority
Springfield Housing Authority
Watertown Housing Authority

October 2-5, 2025
Marlborough, MA

Sponsorship is your opportunity to reach and support diverse, low-income tenant leaders. Join with other corporations, institutions, and allies who stand for dignified public housing, which provides a home for thousands of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable seniors, families, immigrants, veterans and persons with disabilities. Mass Union’s tenant leaders have successfully advocated for the preservation and improvement of public housing in our state for over fifty years.

We invite you to join Chase Bank, MassSave, Eastern Bank, The Boston Foundation, over thirty-five Housing Authorities and many others who have supported Mass Union with a sponsorship for the Fall 2025 Conference.

Special thanks to the LHAs who have contributed to past Mass Union events! The list includes the Acton, Arlington, Attleboro, Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Charlton, Chelmsford, Fall River, Gloucester, Great Barrington, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lenox, Lynn, Malden, Marlborough, Melrose, Needham, Northampton, Plainville, Quincy, Reading, Salem, Seekonk, Sharon, Somerville, Southwick, Springfield, Sudbury, Swampscott, Taunton, Topsfield, Wakefield, Watertown, Webster, West Springfield, and Worcester Housing Authorities.

All sponsoring Housing Authorities will be recognized, regardless of the level of sponsorship. See more below.

SPONSORSHIP TIERS

PRESENTING SPONSOR – $10,000.00

• Keynote Speaker invitation
• Mass Union representative to present a lunch and learn at your location
• Deliver your message in a dedicated email to 700+ residents on our statewide mailing list
• Conference vendor table and four lunches
• Full-page Program Book ad on back cover or inside front cover
• Prominent logo on event signage and swag
• Prominent logo on Mass Union website, event emails and social media

PLATINUM SPONSOR – $5,000.00

• Luncheon Speaker invitation
• Conference vendor table and three lunches
• Full-page Program Book ad
• Prominent logo on event signage and swag
• Prominent logo on Mass Union website, event emails, and social media

GOLD SPONSOR – $2,500.00

• Conference vendor table and two lunches
• Full-page Program Book Ad
• Logo on event signage and swag
• Logo on Mass Union website, event emails, and social media

SILVER SPONSOR – $1,000.00

• Conference vendor table and two lunches
• Half-page Program Book ad
• Logo on event signage and swag
• Logo on Mass Union website, event emails, and social media

CONFERENCE VENDOR TABLES – $500.00

• Conference vendor table and one lunch
• Listing in Program Book

PROGRAM BOOK ADS

• Full-page: $125
• Half-page: $80
• Quarter-page: $50

HOUSING AUTHORITY SPONSORSHIP – All Levels

All Housing Authority sponsors will be recognized, regardless of the level of sponsorship. Your name will appear on event signage, in our Program Book, and our website and social media.

To Sponsor, contact Sarah Byrnes at sarah@massunion.org or 617.326.6088.

Applications are no longer being accepted for this position.

 

Mass Union is thrilled to receive a grant from the Cummings Foundation!

Huge thanks to the Cummings Foundation for their support of public housing tenants in Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties as well as in Brookline, Wellesley, Needham and Quincy!

The Mass Union of Public Housing Tenants respectfully requests our Senators’ support for the following so that we, tenants in public housing, may live with the dignity we deserve.

• • Increase the Public Housing Operating Subsidy, Line Item 7004-9005.

 ASK: $153 million

 Cosponsor and support any amendment that increases this line item. Tenants in state-aided public housing live with mold, rats, bedbugs, broken elevators, sewage problems and more. Massachusetts can and MUST do better. We don’t deserve to live this way. Your help is crucial.

• • Provide more funding for the Access to Counsel Program, Line-item 0321-1800.

 ASK: $5 million

 Cosponsor and support any amendment that increases this line item. Public housing tenants facing eviction need your support. Sometimes, we face eviction because our rent was miscalculated, or we are trying to improve the conditions in our community. Your support for Access to Counsel will provide full representation for those of us who need it most.

• • Support Tenant Voice in Redevelopment.

 ASK: $350,000

 Mass Union is very grateful that the Affordable Homes Act provides protections for tenants undergoing redevelopment with private partners, including requiring that tenants be provided with Technical Assistance to help us navigate complicated deals. These protections are crucial. We are working to find funding sources for Technical Assistance for tenants so we may provide meaningful input into this process. Please stay tuned.