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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National Origin
Although none of the participants identified national origin as a barrier that they themselves had experienced,
one participant expressed concern that affordable housing applications—already daunting for native English
speakers—might be prohibitively complicated for English language learners.

Age
One participant was concerned that Arlington’s tax policies were overly burdensome to seniors on fixed incomes
who are unable to afford large tax increases. She pointed out that seniors generally want to age in place, but
rising property taxes preclude them from doing so and eventually prompts them to move elsewhere. “A lot of the
housing that’s being built [in Arlington] is luxury housing. People move to Burlington or Woburn where they can
buy condos and won’t have a high tax rate. We’re beginning to lose people in the older bracket. It’s not directly
discrimination, but it works that way.”

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Arlington Fair Housing Action Plan

Public and/or Rental Assistance
One participant received a housing voucher, and reported that the wait to receive the voucher had been six and
a half years. For this resident, the voucher was critical to housing stability. Even though she lives in a deed-
restricted affordable housing unit, because the rent in this unit was determined by Area Median Income and not
her actual income, she would pay 100% of her income towards rent if not for a housing voucher. She also
reported difficulty using the voucher with her landlord. Several participants discussed landlords being reluctant
to accept vouchers, and in some cases witnessing or hearing landlords’ telling voucher holders that they do not
accept vouchers, in one case because their unit would not pass the required inspection.