SALEM — Starting March 23, the city’s low-income residents and landlords with lower-income tenants will be able to use a new Housing Stability Service, which aims to provide mediation for housing issues and prevent legal action in court.
Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll announced on Monday that the city, in partnership with Essex County Bar Association (ECBA), has launched a Housing Stability Service. This service will provide free information to Salem’s lower-income renters and to Salem’s landlords with lower-income tenants via in-person consultation with ECBA attorneys, a Housing Stability hotline and a Housing Stability website, salemhousinginfo.com.
“For some Salem residents, the pandemic has resulted in an exacerbation of housing-security challenges,” said Driscoll. “The Housing Stability Service resources, offered in English and Spanish, will help owners and renters understand their obligations and the options available to them when they are facing difficulties.”
The goal of the program is to help resolve housing problems to foster greater neighborhood and housing stability. The city government hopes that the service will help mediate housing issues and prevent legal actions in court, which can save residents from additional financial strain, further housing problems and mental-health crises for renters and landlords alike.
The city recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for renters and landlords, and the new service is tasked with providing information and pointing to resources related to housing rights, responsibilities, and opportunities. The Housing Stability Service can assist with questions related to eviction notices and procedures, housing-safety concerns, long-overdue rent, proper security deposit handling practices, financial resources for housing needs and many others.
However, these services are not legal advice. ECBA representatives might be able to help with referrals to legal aid or a lawyer for those that specifically seek or need legal redress through litigation, when needed.
Information and up-to-date resources on tenant/landlord responsibilities, eviction process and eviction-intervention resources, court information, laws, and other housing-related information can be found on the Housing Stability website.
The Housing Stability hotline is 978-500-0973 and will be answered live on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. Owners and renters may leave a message outside of those hours and an ECBA attorney will get back to them.
Drop-in hours with an ECBA attorney will be available at the Community Life Center (401 Bridge St.) on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting March 23 and the second Thursday of the month from 3 to 7 p.m. starting April 14. There will also be drop-in hours available at Espacio (105 Congress St.) on the first Wednesday of the month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting April 6 and the third Thursday of the month from 3 to 7 p.m. starting April 21.
The Housing Stability Service is funded through a Community Development Block Grant provided by the federal government under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
