Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)

Citation: Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)
Jurisdiction: Arlington (municipal)
Source: Official source
Original Source: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/57214/637641171662530000 ↗

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Affordability
For many participants, the high cost of housing required them to make difficult decisions about what they were
willing to sacrifice in exchange for relatively lower-cost housing. As one participant put it, “It’s expensive to rent
here. You need to weigh what you’re willing to give up to afford a place.” In some cases, those tradeoffs were
related to safety, whether because the building did not meet their accessibility needs or because the building
was not code compliant. One participant stated, “The places that are more affordable, there’s usually an issue.
You’ll notice that things are unsafe or should have been fixed.” Examples from various participants included a
lack of hot water due to too many units sharing a water heater, inadequate electric service resulting in
continually tripped circuit breakers and potential fire hazards, or general negligence with regards to
maintenance and repairs. Older buildings with longtime landlords were noted as being particularly problematic.
One participant, whose landlord rents rooms individually to unrelated occupants, said that she felt unsafe due to
the behavior of the other occupants with whom she shared the apartment’s kitchen and bathroom.

Of the six participants, two currently live in deed-restricted affordable housing and one is on a wait list. That
participant observed that her application was sent to many towns, and that she would not necessarily be able to
stay in Arlington depending on where her application was accepted.
Some participants who currently rent their homes expressed a desire to one day own a home. However, they
noted the lack of affordable homeownership opportunities and programs, and acknowledged that ownership
was unlikely given current home prices in town.