Housing

The Bureau handles cases in different areas of housing law: public and private housing eviction, public subsidy termination, tenant association disputes, and community action planning.

For public housing eviction cases, we usually only accept cases after a Notice to Quit has been issued. However, if eviction is a real possibility and the potential client is unable to negotiate effectively with the local housing authority, the Bureau may consider providing representation to the potential client. Public housing tenants who have an informal private conference or a grievance hearing scheduled will be provided with a referral to The Harvard Law School Tenant Advocacy Project, if appropriate.
 
The Bureau also accepts tenants in private housing evictions; generally the prospective client must have received a Summons & Complaint before we schedule him or her for an Intake Interview.  The Bureau has a general policy of not accepting cases involving evictions from owner-occupied housing because there is usually not as large a disparity between the resources of the landlord and the tenant in such cases as there are in other eviction cases.

The Bureau has recently also accepted cases from tenant associations and have been involved in supporting community organizers in their action planning, including our current work to develop a “Displacement-Free Zone” against gentrification-related eviction in Mattapan along the Fairmount MBTA Commuter Rail Line.