For the purposes of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A or paragraph (7) of section forty-four D of chapter one hundred and forty-nine, each housing and redevelopment authority shall be considered a municipal agency and, without limiting the power of a city council or board of aldermen or board of selectmen to classify additional special municipal employees pursuant to said chapter, each member of such an authority, and any person who performs professional services for such an authority on a part-time, intermittent or consultant basis, such as those of architect, attorney, engineer, planner, or construction, financial, real estate or traffic expert, shall be considered a special municipal employee.
Any compensation paid to a tenant member of a housing authority for services as a member shall be included as income in determining rent, and the tenant shall be subject to appropriate rent increases, as provided for in authority policy and as regulated by the department; provided, however, that such compensation shall not be considered income for purposes of determining continued occupancy.