Housing

Councilor Louijeune is working to address the root causes of our city’s housing crisis by fighting a troubled legacy of racism and inequality that has prevented thousands from homeownership, creating access to fair housing rental opportunities, and expanding affordable housing.

As part of her work in her first two terms on the Boston City Council, Councilor Louijeune has done the following:

Remove barriers to long-term and new Boston residents:

  • Budget Amendments. Councilor Louijeune led critical budget amendments to increase and stabilize Boston’s Rental Voucher Program with a $1.6 million investment, providing direct housing support to residents in need. She also secured additional funding for the Office of Housing Stability and the Tenant Stabilization Fund to help prevent displacement and protect renters across the city.

  • Limit broker fees. The Councilor co-sponsored a petition to limit external broker fees to ease the financial burden on Boston renters. In addition to this act, we are now celebrating recent statewide elimination of forced broker fees in Massachusetts. 

  • Protect tenants. Councilor Louijeune supported Boston tenants facing the threat of eviction by holding hearings with her colleagues on a right to counsel tenant pilot program. This program seeks to alleviate the financial and social burden of eviction on tenants and city resources while reducing overall eviction rates.

Fight housing discrimination:

  • Combat discrimination in homeownership. Councilor Louijeune led a hearing to discuss strategies to combat racial discrimination in lending and appraisals to support Black and Latinx homeownership in Boston.

  • Utilize eviction sealing. The Councilor sponsored a resolution in support of eviction sealing. Eviction sealing creates a path to review cases of unfair eviction records, which can have lasting legal consequences for tenants.

This is an image of a group of Councilors and other Boston government officials posing for a group photo in front of a white colonial-style building with multiple windows and string lights overhead.

In September 2024, Councilor Louijeune and her colleagues proudly announced an additional $7M in affordable housing alongside Mayor Wu, with an emphasis on increasing homeownership, preventing displacement, and supporting vulnerable community members. 

Expand affordable housing by: 

This is an image of a group of women standing together outdoors in winter clothing, posing for a photo among bare trees on a sunny day. They are standing in front of the Fairtown Apartment complex with Councilor Louijeune and Mayor Michelle Wu.

Fairlawn Apartments was preserved as permanently affordable housing. Thanks to Mayor Wu, the City of Boston invested in our AOP program to make $10 million investments like this possible to prevent displacement.

Housing has been a top priority for the budget:

  • The Councilor worked to incorporate amendments to the City’s FY25-26 budget to include: 

    • Additional $1,600,000 for City Housing vouchers allocated for affordable and stable housing

    • Additional $100,000 for investments in the External Fair Housing Tester Program

    • Additional $50,000 for the Tenant Stabilization Fund in the Mayor’s Office of Housing

  • Here are some of Councilor Louijeune’s housing budget wins in FY24-25:

    • Additional $1,100,000 for City Housing Vouchers and Community Land Trusts

    • Additional $400,000 for down payment assistance

    • Additional $300,000 for a pilot program offering legal representation for residents facing eviction

  • Here are some of Councilor Louijeune’s housing budget wins in FY22-23:

    • Additional $2,250,000 for the City of Boston’s Housing Voucher Program

    • Additional $800,000 to support formerly incarcerated residents in their search for transitional housing

    • Additional $1.1 million for temporary shelter