The City is launching a new program that delivers financial assistance to property owners with 1 to 4 unit residential buildings in the Shurtleff-Bellingham and Addison-Orange census tracts. The initiative is part of ongoing Community Development Block Grant activities targeting these neighborhoods.
Support for this program comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) Program.
Operating as a pilot in Shurtleff-Bellingham and Addison-Orange, the program extends deferred-payment loans to qualified owners for housing rehabilitation work needed to achieve code compliance and address violations affecting the health and safety of residents. The City included this program in its CDBG grant application to complement code enforcement efforts by the Chelsea Department of Inspectional Services, particularly housing inspections mandated by the 2014 changes to the City’s Certificate of Habitability Ordinance. These changes require rental unit inspections at least once every five years, in addition to inspections already required before new tenants occupy units. All housing units must comply with minimum standards outlined in Chapter II of the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code.
Applicants and eligible tenants must meet income requirements under the Housing Rehabilitation Program. Rental units receiving assistance must be leased to low- and moderate income households at affordable rates for 15 years. Funding is restricted to the targeted areas specified in the CDBG grant and addresses health and safety hazards, code violations, serious building maintenance deficiencies, deteriorated roofs, and structural deficiencies.
The state allocated $200,000 in total funding, sufficient to assist up to 10 housing units with a maximum of $20,000 per unit. Program staff will collaborate with applicants to identify additional private or public funding sources for repairs. The Chelsea Restoration Corporation administers the program on behalf of the City, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. For more information about eligibility or to apply, contact Marilyn Garcia, Chelsea Restoration Program, at (617) 889-2277, [email protected] or David Guzman, Chelsea Department of Planning & Development, at (617) 466-4186.