One of the lowest-cost housing choices for ladies in Boston will stay that means following an settlement secured with the state lawyer normal’s workplace.
The Our Lady Guild House, a single-occupancy condo constructing on Charlesgate West, lists its smallest room, a 10-by-11 footer, at $810 and its largest, a 12-by-14, at $950 — Boston steals, particularly at simple strolling distance to a number of arts and parks, together with Fenway.
The property is owned by the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, although state’s submitting lists a separate entity named for the constructing since 1981, and has its condo constructing open for residency by about 130 “women of all faiths and national origins” — however the Attorney General’s workplace mentioned a sale is pending that would might have put the affordability of this housing in jeopardy.
On Wednesday, the AG’s workplace introduced that it had secured a cope with the homeowners and administration of the House that gives “protections against evictions and rent increases while the sale of the building is pending,” settles allegations of age and incapacity discrimination towards long-term tenants and secured a $115,000 penalty fee that will likely be primarily distributed to seven long-term residents of the House.
“Our elders and residents living with disabilities deserve more than just our respect. We owe them an opportunity to live long and healthy lives, free from discrimination and the fear of being pushed out of their homes,” AG Andrea Campbell mentioned in a press release. “This settlement provides stability and safety for the women who have called Our Lady’s Guild House home for years, and our office will continue to protect access to affordable housing across the Commonwealth.”
The settlement tosses out pending eviction claims, retains the constructing reasonably priced housing “in perpetuity” and permits six of the long-term residents to remain and topic solely to “limited rent increases.”
Residents first filed complaints in 2018 when the House’s administration “brought no fault eviction proceedings to rid the building of long-term tenants in violation of fair housing laws,” in accordance with a press release from Margaret Turner, the senior lawyer at Greater Boston Legal Services.
At that point, residents advised the Herald that the administration of the constructing had modified in 2012 and that it started catering towards faculty college students, with the aged being pushed out.
“There’s been a shift in values it was founded on,” resident Judy Burnette, who had lived within the constructing for a decade, advised the Herald then.
“Ever since new management, we’re being charged an arm and a leg. This is not just a room, it’s our home,” she continued. “The women that live here, we’re a community. So many ladies here would pool money to buy groceries and share the food. If they do push us out, many of us will be homeless.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”