Neighborhood Development

The Department of Neighborhood Development is responsible for housing the homeless, developing affordable housing, and managing the City’s real estate. We ensure that renters and homeowners can find, maintain, and stay in their homes.

Page Sections

Eviction help

The Office of Housing Stability's hotline is open (617-635-4200). You can also email housingstability@boston.gov. Aside from eviction help, they can answer questions about the Rental Relief Fund.

Landlord help

Mayor Walsh’s Housing Stability Notification Act is in the process of being enacted. The Act requires property owners and constables serving a Notice to Quit and Notice of Lease Non-renewal to also provide tenants with a document containing resources and information about tenant rights. This document will be available soon. Please fill out this Expression of Interest form in English or Spanish. We will let you know when the document is available.

Foreclosure help

The Boston Home Center's call center is open (617-635-4663). You can also email HomeCenter@boston.gov. Aside from foreclosure help, they can assist with emergency repairs and buying or maintaining a home.

Contact

617-635-3880

neighborhooddevelopment.dnd@boston.gov

26 Court Street
8th, 9th, and 11th Floors

Boston, MA 02108-2501

Temporary COVID-19 hours

Our building is closed.

How we can support you

Eviction services and help paying rent

Foreclosure help and emergency repairs

Emergency shelter

Helping developers create affordable housing

What we do

What We Do

Office of Housing Stability

The Office of Housing Stability (OHS) helps residents find and maintain stable, safe, and affordable housing.

HOUSING CRISIS SUPPORT

OHS helps tenants in housing crisis due to fire, natural disaster, eviction, or condemnation. They also have information on emergency resources for tenants. Their goal is to put residents on the path to housing stability.

TENANT AND LANDLORD INFORMATION

They provide information to tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities.

PROGRAM AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

They develop tenant and landlord resources and programs. They want to promote the creation and preservation of stable and affordable housing in Boston.

ADVOCACY AND POLICY

They research, draft, and put in place policies that aim to prevent displacement. Their goal is to keep our communities intact.

Domonique A. Williams is Deputy Director of the Office of Housing Stability.

Boston Home Center

The Boston Home Center helps Boston residents buy, improve, and keep their homes.

The Boston Home Center offers:

training, financial help and counseling to first-time homebuyers
guidance and funding for homeowners to complete home improvements, and
counseling to help families avoid foreclosure

They also market brand new houses developed for income-eligible, first-time homebuyers.

Maureen Flynn is Deputy Director of the Boston Home Center.

Housing Innovation Lab

The Housing Innovation Lab is working to increase housing affordability. The lab tests innovative housing models and accelerates the pace of innovation in the housing sector.

The Housing Innovation Lab puts people at the center of their work. They engage both internal and external partners to move the work forward. The Lab also experiments early and often, taking a prototype-driven approach to policy making.

Housing Innovation Lab projects include:

Dr. Taylor Cain is the Director of the City of Boston's Housing Innovation Lab.

Neighborhood Housing Development

The Neighborhood Housing Development Division ensures that public funding is wisely invested in strong affordable housing developments. These developments serve both their local neighborhoods and the citizens of Boston.

Affordable Housing Preservation is part of Housing Development. They fund loans for developers who want to buy and fix up old housing. Developers can also buy land through a Request for Proposal process. Learn more about how we sell our land to developers.

The division works with partner agencies to:

keep affordable housing options on the market
create open spaces in the City
fix up abandoned properties, and
offer housing services to low-income and homeless residents.

Jessica Boatright is the Deputy Director of Neighborhood Housing Development.

Office of Finance and Loan Management

This office creates our annual budget, which is about $100 million. They also oversee more than 4,700 loan accounts totaling more than $300 million.

For more information, call 617-635-5626, or email Loans.DND@cityofboston.gov. Helpful documents are included below.

SUBORDINATION POLICIES

A detailed documents of our policies.

APPLICATION FOR SUBORDINATION

The application includes a checklist of policies and procedures.

STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE

You may need to get this signed by Inspectional Services if you want to subordinate a loan.

AFFIRMATION OF COMPLIANCE

Some of our loans are partially forgivable. To qualify for forgiveness, you'll need to sign and notarize this form.

CASH FLOW CALCULATION FORM

Some of our loans require annual cash flow payments. This form must be filled out and returned with the borrower's annual financials.

Rick Wilson is the Deputy Director of Finance.

Policy Development and Research

Policy Development and Research (PDR) supports:

program development
research and policy analysis, and
mapping and data services.

PDR also works on grant-writing and assistance on regulatory and compliance matters. PDR staff oversee the citizen participation process for the City of Boston’s annual grant allocations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They also prepare the federally required plans and reports.

Trend Reports

HUD Plans and Reports

To meet federal requirements, the City of Boston is making an Assessment of Fair Housing in Boston.

Neighborhood housing reports

Environmental Reports

Tim Davis is Deputy Director of Policy Development and Research.

Real Estate Management and Sales

Real Estate Management and Sales (REMS) is responsible for

the maintenance
site assessment, and
disposition of the City’s tax foreclosed and surplus property.

These properties can include vacant parcels, as well as residential, commercial, and industrial properties. REMS manages the process through which land and buildings are disposed. That often involves:

community meetings
crafting and issuing Requests for Proposals, and
overseeing the review selection process of bidders.

In addition, REMS is responsible for the care and custody of the Strand Theatre.

Donald Wright is the Deputy Director of Real Estate Management and Sales.

Supportive Housing Division

The Supportive Housing Division provides funding for housing and supportive services for:

homeless populations
those at risk of homelessness, and
housing for people with HIV/AIDS.

The Supportive Housing Division manages over $30 million in federal grants. The division funds nonprofits to provide services for households who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or living with HIV/AIDS.

Read more about our programs and initiatives:

Laila Bernstein is Deputy Director of the Supportive Housing Division.