Housing
Senator Brown believes that all citizens should have access to affordable housing and has worked to increase housing stock and redevelop areas for housing. He understands that many families struggle to pay both their mortgage payments and the high levels of property taxes.
► Fixing 40B - Senator Brown has very serious concerns in the implementation of 40B affordable housing regulations. (Commonly referred to as "anti-sob" laws) He believes that the laws, though well intentioned, are extremely flawed and often unfair to the communities. He has filed several pieces of legislation to address the loopholes and counterproductive statues established in Chapter 40B. Sen. Brown wants to continue to work with local communities in order to offer affordable options to those in need, but still maintain local control of the building process.
► Promoting Affordable Housing – Senator Brown has cosponsored a bill that pays attention to the needs of moderate to low income individuals as well as families. This bill would amend Chapter 40 of the state laws to allow cities or towns that have more than 30 percent of their land owned by the federal, state, or local government, or public or private entity exempt from taxation, to meet the affordable housing requirements if they have at least 5 percent of their housing represented by low and moderate income housing.
To further help families afford homes, Sen. Brown has worked on a first time buyer program that helps families afford homeownership in high-priced market. SoftSecond is a public-private partnership program with a 14-year history of helping moderate and low-income families to purchase their first home across the Commonwealth. The state’s contribution will leverage over 1,000 loans from participating banks. The average savings of $300 a month will make home ownership available to families who would otherwise be priced out of the market.
► Reforming the landlord-tenant relationship – Senator Brown has co-sponsored a bill that requires tenants to place any withheld rent in an escrow account and establishes stricter standards for the withholding on alleged violations of housing codes.
► Smart Growth – Senator Brown has long been a supporter of the 40R law which establishes “smart growth” building initiatives and development. This law promotes mixed use zones to utilize the close proximity to transportation and access to other are Amenities. This is also important because it brings new life into often stagnant downtown areas, attracts small businesses, and is better for the environment.