Letter from the Executive Director for November 2016

Candidates Nights lay the foundation. Partner organization SPOA enters transition period.

In October we took a significant step toward our long-term goal of public policy advocacy. It’s important that the landlord perspective be considered alongside the tenant perspective at every policy discussion, and we intend to represent that perspective with paid staff. To achieve this, we are focusing short-term on offering economically valuable services to members and on growing our membership.

Last month we used some of our resources to plan and hold back-to-back “Candidates’ Nights” in Worcester and Springfield. At the MassLandlords Candidates’ Nights, those seeking election to office in contested seats were invited to come and discuss landlord-tenant law.

The two meetings were different, as discussed in the article, “Lessons Learned from Candidates’ Night,” further on in this newsletter. This is the great strength of the MassLandlords network. By holding similar events in different ways, we can learn how best to provide meaningful content, and how best to interact with our guest speakers and members.

The significance of Candidates’ Night 2016 is that we can see the road ahead. Massachusetts landlord-tenant law is dusted over with the cobwebs of four decades of neglect. It’s a difficult subject to research and discuss. The opportunities for improvement are everywhere, and it’s exciting to think about what a difference we can make.

Speaking of making a difference, members of the Small Property Owners Association, a MassLandlords partner centered around Boston and Cambridge, were startled to read last month that their Executive Director, Skip Schloming, and their President, Lenore Monello-Schloming, had both resigned in an apparent board split. According to the SPOA Policy newsletter, “A strong majority of the SPOA Board of Directors would not support the Schlomings on several key issues.”

Skip and Lenore have made an enormous difference for landlords in Massachusetts, going back to 1994 when rent control was outlawed. Since then, they’ve held the line on rent control, especially by recognizing that Just Cause Eviction is rent control by another name. Legally speaking, SPOA is a separate organization from MassLandlords. We have little ability to influence their governance decisions, and we have no editorial influence whatsoever on their policy. All SPOA members are MassLandlords members by virtue of our service contract with SPOA. We hope to continue serving SPOA and their membership with our member benefits, like rental forms and Home Depot savings. We wish the remaining SPOA board safe passage through this transition period. My earnest hope is that all owners can remain united in our common effort toward better housing, better laws, and the common wealth.

I’m looking forward to November, when we will start our next employee. We’ll report on this and other developments in future months. Share this newsletter with a friend, we’re on to great things.

Sincerely,
Doug Quattrochi
Executive Director
C: 617-285-7255