Resource Guides
On this page, affordable rental housing property management staff will find resource guides and other tools and information to help create and maintain stronger housing communities.
Regional Resource Guides
Fair Housing Resources
State and federal laws require nondiscrimination and equal access to housing for people on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, familial status, children, marital status, veteran status or membership in the armed services, the receiving of public assistance, or physical or mental disability.
For more information on fair housing, contact Helena Padellaro at 617.854.1077.
- Sample Certification of Need for Reasonable Accommodation Requiring Physical Changes to the Unit of Housing Development Premises
- Sample Communications Policy
- Sample Contractor/Agent Policy
- Sample Employment Policy and Procedure for Employee Reasonable Accommodations
- Sample Housing Provider Release to Contact Service Provider
- Sample Lease Addendum
- Sample Nondiscrimination Statement
- Sample Non-Traditional Housing Reference
- Sample Notice of Reasonable Accommodation
- Sample Notice of Right to Reasonable Accommodations
- Sample Public Meetings and Events Policy
- Sample Reasonable Accommodation Policy
- Sample Request for Consideration of Mitigating Circumstances
- Sample Service Provider Release to Contact Housing Provider
- Sample Traditional Housing Reference
Hoarding Resources
- Case Management Agreement (MBHP)
- Collaborative Plan and Agreement (NSES)
- Hoarding Intervention Essentials (House Works)
- HOMES Multi-Disciplinary Hoarding Risk Assessment (Bratiotis, 2009)
- Housing Court Order SAMPLE
- How to Talk to Someone with Hoarding: Dos and Don’ts
- Protocol for Dealing with The Problem of Hoarding (Maloney Properties, 2007)
- Readiness to Change Questionnaire & Scoring
- Sample HUD Language for Service Provider Release
- Uniform Inspection Checklist (Center for Hoarding and Cluttering)
- DPH Housing Regulations and Guidelines
- Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts
- How to Talk to Someone with a Hoarding Problem (Sorrentino)
- MA Department of Children and Families (DCF)
- Massachusetts Association of Health Boards
- Massachusetts Legal Services
- MBHP Hoarding and Code Enforcement Protocols
- National Association of Professional Organizers
- TPP Regions and Contacts
- Visiting Nurse Associations of New England/Massachusetts
- Worcester Fair Housing: Hoarding and Reasonable Accommodation
- Code of Mass. Regulations: MA Trial Court Law Library
- Codes Related to Hoarding: Fire: 527 CMR
- Codes Related to Hoarding: Safety: 780 CMR
- Codes Related to Hoarding: Sanitary: 105 CMR 410.000
- Potentially Condemnable Conditions
- Summary of Hoarding Related Code Regulations (DPH, 2007)
- Thinking Outside Our Box(es): Health Codes (DPH, 2007)
- Addressing the Health and Safety of Compulsive Hoarders (MBHP)
- Addressing the Health, Safety, and Tenancy Preservation Needs of Compulsive Hoarders (MBHP)
- Hoarding Presentation: Hampden County Hoarding Task Force (2011)
- Hoarding: What it is, Consequences and Intervention (Steketee, 2012)
- Hoarding Bibliography List (Boston University School of Social Work)
- Hoarding Survey Summary Report, January 2017
- Prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior (Samuels, 2008)
- The Hoarding Handbook (Bratiotis, 2011)
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Resources
VAWA crimes—defined as domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking—remain a pervasive problem across the country, including in MassHousing developments. In 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued guidance in relation to the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
This page links to many important resources related to VAWA and Massachusetts state law as well as the MassHousing publication, The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Massachusetts State Law and Housing: An Overview for Housing Providers.
If you are in need of assistance due to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, contact SafeLink, the statewide domestic violence hotline: 1-877-785-2020 | Website.
- 2022 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act
- Guidelines for Massachusetts Law Enforcement Response to Adult Sexual Assault
- Guidelines for Massachusetts Law Enforcement Response to Domestic Violence
- Housing Rights of Domestic Violence Survivors: A State and Local Law Compendium
- Massachusetts State Law: An Act relative to housing rights for victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault and stalking
- HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard
- HUD, FHEO, Memo: Guidance on the Implementation of FHEO Notice FHEO-2023-1
- FHEO Enforcement Authority and Procedures: Violence Against Women Act 2022 (VAWA)
- FHEO Domestic Violence Memo
- Relevant HUD Forms (available in multiple languages)
- Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization Act of 2013 – Additional Guidance for Multifamily Owners and Management Agents
- Housing Provisions of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022
- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013: Implementation in HUD Housing Programs
- The Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022: Overview of Applicability to HUD Programs
- Department of Public Health: Violence Prevention and Intervention Services
- Governor’s Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence
- Jane Doe, Inc.
- Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance
- Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) SAFEPLAN Program
- Massachusetts Victims of Violent Crime Compensation
- Safe Housing Partnerships
- Simmons College School of Social Work: Domestic Violence Training
- Vicarious Trauma Toolkit