HIGH DISPLACEMENT RISK
EAST BOSTON
East Boston is one of the highest displacement-risk neighborhoods in Greater Boston. Home to a large Latino community and many residents with limited English proficiency, East Boston faces intense pressure from investor-owned properties, rising rents, and indirect displacement as longtime residents are priced out. Investor-owned properties in Boston are 70% more likely to implement major rent increases. If you live in East Boston and are facing a rent increase, lease non-renewal, or eviction, these resources are for you.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AS A RENTER IN MASSACHUSETTS
In Massachusetts, landlords must give 30 days written notice to raise rent for month-to-month tenants.
Evictions require a court process. A landlord cannot remove you, change your locks, or shut off utilities without going through Housing Court.
You have the right to a habitable home. Landlords are legally required to maintain heat, hot water, and safe living conditions under the Massachusetts Sanitary Code.
If you receive an eviction notice, you do not have to leave immediately. You have the right to contest it in court.
RESOURCES
Free legal aid for low-income residents facing eviction, housing discrimination, and other housing issues. Serves East Boston.
Plain-language guides to tenant rights, eviction process, and housing court in Massachusetts. Available in Spanish.
State program providing up to $10,000 in emergency financial assistance to keep families housed. Apply through your local community action agency.
Massachusetts 211
Dial 2-1-1 for free, confidential referrals to local housing assistance, rental aid, and social services. Available 24/7 in multiple languages.
Local nonprofit providing affordable housing, homeownership counseling, and tenant support in East Boston.
UNDERSTANDING DISPLACEMENT
Direct displacement happens when a landlord evicts a tenant. Indirect displacement happens when rising rents force a family to leave voluntarily. Both are happening in East Boston. Between 2004 and 2018, nearly 1 in 5 residential property sales in Boston were purchased by investors who treat housing as a financial asset, not a home. Between 2002 and 2022, 12% of Boston apartment buildings were flipped — purchased, renovated, and resold at higher prices. When that happens, rents go up and longtime residents are pushed out.