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Office of Attorney General Maura Healey
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Emergency Rental Assistance Advisory

This page, Emergency Rental Assistance Advisory, is offered by
Office of Attorney General Maura Healey

Emergency Rental Assistance Advisory

Landlords cannot discriminate against tenants because they plan to use temporary or emergency rental assistance including Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance (ERMA), Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), or local emergency rental assistance programs set up by cities and towns.

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Your landlord cannot refuse to participate in these programs

For example, landlords cannot refuse to participate in these rental assistance programs because they:

Simply prefer cash;
Are concerned that the approval process for these programs will take a long time;
Do not want to fill out certain paperwork required for these programs;
Wish to avoid paying taxes on rental income;
Assume the tenant applying to these programs is not eligible for emergency rental assistance; or
Would prefer not to abide by program requirements for these programs.