Letter from the Executive Director for August 2015

Looking back over July it's clear that a couple major steps have been taken. Remember that our stated goals for 2015 are economically valuable services and legislatively effective size. Well, these goals were well enough in hand that I took time in July to lay the foundation for a longer-term goal: public policy advocacy.

Let's talk about our 2015 goals first. In terms of services, we have downloadable rental forms, savings at Home Depot, a coupon for tenant screening, and membership meetings, to name a few. These are driving membership dues and affiliate rebates. They have contributed to our ability to maintain current contract staffing for the foreseeable future. We're still working up to salaried staff, but we're in good financial shape and improving monthly.

In terms of size, we grew roughly 5% in July, net of non-renewals, and are hovering around the 1,000 mark. This came from a focus on online advertising and our renewal process, which appears to be working much better now for local chapters from Springfield to Boston.

This progress toward 2015's goals encouraged me to work toward our long-term goal. I took full advantage of our seat on the Senate Special Commission on Housing by volunteering for two of the subgroups: Landlord-Tenant Law, and Homelessness. Most landlords would agree that landlord-tenant law needs reform, but what of homelessness? Why should I spend any of our time working there?

Well the truth is that we are still too small to drive our own agenda. But we can make an enormous difference with items on other people's agendas. Consider, for instance, the landlord-tenant subgroup. In this group, we are not talking about late fees, or rent escrow, or security deposit law. Our common ground with the tenant advocates actually centers around the subsidy lease-up process (e.g., Section 8). If subsidy administrators gave better disclosures and had better processes for landlords, it could make a big difference to Section 8 lease-up times and placement rates. Our feedback has been essential to starting this work.

It's similar for homelessness. In Massachusetts we spend a great deal of money to provide emergency assistance (e.g., motel rooms) to homeless families. But at any given time, private landlords have enough vacancies to take all of these families into private housing for far less cost. What about the fact that few of these tenants would pass a rental screen? Well, we have learned of programs in other states that provide thousands of dollars in insurance for unpaid rent and property damage. A pilot may soon be developed for Massachusetts. You will hear more about it if it is. Such a pilot might not even be considered if we weren't in the room.

The take-away for policy-makers is that landlords are an important piece of the equation, and we're now just a phone call away.

The take-away for landlords is that in the last month we have nurtured new relationships with the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Boston Tenant Coalition, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, and the Senate, among others. These groups matter to us, and now we are starting to matter to them. Now that we are just a phone call away, so are they.

By working together we can learn to respect our different viewpoints and find the common ground on which we can move forward. These new introductions are an enormously positive thing for landlords in specific and for the Commonwealth in general.

So thank you for participating. Tell your friends about us. And above all, make sure you are taking advantage of the benefits we have to offer. You active membership is making a difference now and for the years to come.

Sincerely,
Doug Quattrochi
Executive Director