Business

Olympics report calls for eviction protection for tenants

A new report suggests more oversight for Boston’s Olympic bid. AP

By Adam Vaccaro

June 9, 2015

1 minute to read

A new Olympics-related report is out this morning, suggesting the state should form a commission to coordinate planning around the proposed 2024 Summer Games in Boston. Among the concerns it seeks to address: protecting tenants from Olympics-related evictions.

Residential displacement has been a concern of those opposed to Boston’s bid since last year. The new report out Tuesday morning—put out by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, and Transportation for Massachusetts—suggests new tenant protections to help prevent these types of issues. One of the many recommendations in the report reads:

“The Massachusetts Legislature, the city of Boston, and other cities that might be affected should develop and adopt a comprehensive package of tenant protections to prevent temporary displacement in the leadup to the games and during the events. This package should prohibit the following: no-fault evictions during the year preceding the games, summer surcharges or other temporary rent increases, and/or ‘short-leases’ designed to end before the games begin.’’

When Olympic organizing group Boston 2024 released a version of its bidding plans earlier this year, it further stoked tenant fears. The plans included a proposal that “a third-party specialist’’ could work to coordinate with Boston-area landlords on short-term leases that expire in June in the year ahead of the 2024 games. The goal would have been to put homes up for rent for tourists during the summer of the Olympics.

The idea generated some criticism in the press, and a couple weeks later Boston 2024 said it would do away with the plan.

The new report also suggests that stakeholders address other housing issues ahead of the Olympics. Among them: a coordinated effort to protect homeless people from harassment and relocation ahead of the proposed games, clearly defining a number of affordable housing units that would be built as a result of the Olympics, and ensuring that venues are kept out of residential areas.

The whole report, which features additional Olympic-related recommendations related to issues including transportation and long-term planning, can be read here.