Letter From the Executive Director for October 2026: Spanish Lessons and How To Get Rid of Junk Land

Last month we launched a new member service, Spanish lessons, described in this edition. We also upgraded our existing service to donate unbuildable (junk) land with a new purchase and sale agreement. Finally, we contributed to the Mass Save three-year planning process.

If you haven’t already, first please complete our survey about how it feels to be a MassLandlords member.

It should be noted that we leaned into the Spanish-speaking rental market a year ago this month. Over the last year, we’ve updated es.MassLandlords.net with new pages, made a habit of translating new articles, and translated all of our approximately 50 rental forms. We also built es.RentControlHistory.com, which will help us advocate for better rental housing the next time rent control is proposed.

Our new member service, Spanish lessons, is something I feel confident we can do better than most. I started Spanish lessons a year ago using the Anki app to record and practice what I learn. I spend 15 minutes a day plus one hour a week. My Spanish vocabulary has increased by 3,000 words, recognition and production, with over 90% recall. That’s more progress than in the previous couple of years combined. We’ll show you how.

Separately, we are continuing to engage with owners who have unbuildable lots through the Massachusetts Urban Conservancy. The next round of grants opens soon. If you want to be included, let us know. No lot is too problematic.

Finally, I’ve volunteered a lot of time to the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, which is building the Mass Save plan for 2028-2030. Mass Save is a great program and one of the few truly collaborative things happening in policy right now. It’s not without need of improvement, which is why every three years we replan.

We’re well aware that the municipal light plant (MLP) towns are not doing enough with energy efficiency. I’ve also suggested blower door tests be performed before Mass Save dollars are spent on a heat pump system, to ensure they perform as well as we’d like. Every $1 spent on Mass Save nets us $3 in savings. Our contributions are helping those savings reach our renters.

Thank you to everyone who responded to our question about the service provider directory, by the way. We’ll continue to operate it. I’m still not sure where our next big investment will go.

Our mission is to create better rental housing. Learn to use your benefits. Make sure dues are paying for themselves. Remember we’re here to help you. Tell us what you need, email hello@masslandlords.net.

Sincerely,

Doug

Executive Director

MassLandlords, Inc.