Latest news with #SenateHousingandMunicipalGovernmentCommittee
Boston Globe
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Advocates decry ‘dangerous rollbacks' in R.I.'s lead-safe rental registry
Advertisement 'It's already working and it continues to increase the safety and quality of our state's housing stock,' Guo said. 'One of the main goals of the rental registry was to act as a tool for enforcement of existing lead laws." Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up The state Lead Hazard Mitigation Act became law 20 years ago, requiring rental units built before 1978 to pass a lead inspection every two years. 'But still, more than 900 children were considered to have an She said lead exposure is especially prevalent in Providence, Pawtucket, Related : Advertisement Guo said that if there had been no rental registry, many landlords would not have done lead inspections. While no fines have been imposed yet, she said, 'The threat of impending fines and the possibility that tenants could withhold their rent by placing it into escrow was the most powerful motivator.' Shana Crandell, executive director of Reclaim RI, a 'grassroots housing justice organization,' said the rental registry is working in part because it lets tenants pay rent into escrow if their landlord refuses to take steps to make their apartments safe. 'If landlords want to get their rent checks, they've got to make sure the apartment they're renting out isn't toxic and won't brain damage their tenants,' she said. But, Crandell said, 'There have been attempts this session to weaken this critical public health tool.' And she called for legislators to 'oppose dangerous rollbacks of the registry' that she said would 'put renters' children at risk of serious harm.' 'This is the time to build on progress, not reverse it,' she said. Meanwhile, the legislation has received support from landlords such as Scott Bonelli, who submitted written testimony to the Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee. 'Help the property owner help the situation. We are not the enemy,' he wrote. 'I fully support changes being made so that this law does as it is intended and reduces the burden and cost on the housing market.' Bonelli said he supports lead-safe housing for 'at-risk occupants.' But, he said, data indicates that about 15 percent of rental households include children under age 6 — the group most vulnerable to lead exposure. Advertisement 'Efforts should be targeted toward this specific segment rather than implementing a broad, all-encompassing approach that is unrealistic and unattainable,' Bonelli wrote. 'Overloading an already strained system with additional requirements will not effectively protect children.' The Rhode Island Coalition of Housing Providers wrote to the House Judiciary Committee in support of the legislation, saying, 'These changes strike a necessary balance between protecting public health and ensuring fair and practical implementation for housing providers.' The coalition called for restoring a landlord's ability to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent even if the landlord hasn't yet obtained a lead certificate. 'While lead safety compliance is important, it should not be used as a loophole to prevent landlords from taking necessary legal action against tenants who fail to pay rent,' the group wrote. The coalition also supported pushing back penalties in the rental registry law until Oct. 1, 2025. 'These changes provide much-needed fairness and feasibility in implementing lead safety measures while maintaining the law's intent of protecting at-risk populations,' the group wrote. Insurance agent Anthony D. Zelano Sr. also wrote to senators in support of the legislation. 'Rhode Island's lead laws create significant obstacles for insurance companies when it comes to covering homes built before 1978,' he wrote. 'The age of these homes, the costs of inspections and renovations, and the fear of lawsuits all contribute to a challenging environment for insurers.' But Attorney General Advertisement Neronha warned that a set of four pieces of legislation would 'render the lead registry inoperable, repeal effective enforcement provisions, and allow noncompliant landlords to continue to expose Rhode Island children to the dangers of lead poisoning.' That would happen, he said, just as new laws are having their intended effect: He said Rhode Island's lead poisoning rate fell by 24 percent in 2024, leaving it with the lowest rate on record. 'I urge the committee to reject this proposed legislation, which would place the financial interests of landlords above the health and safety of children,' Neronha wrote. Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
Boston Globe
23-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
15,000 new homes must be built over five years to fix housing shortage in R.I., according to a new state plan
Advertisement The new housing goal is ambitious, but is expected to face an uphill battle. High to Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'When housing development does not meet demand... It puts a roadblock in what we call the road to prosperity,' said McKee in a State House event that announced the release of the plan. 'That needs to change.' But McKee's plan falls short of what advocates and researchers have claimed Rhode Island needs to truly close the affordability gap, which would require the construction of Advertisement Across the state and all income levels, about one-third of households are cost-burdened already, which means they are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing-related expenses alone. Homelessness is Related : The 15,000 figure was developed by McKee's new Department of Housing, an advisory committee of developers and nonprofit leaders, and state-funded consultants as part of a comprehensive state housing plan that's been at least two years in the works. The first comprehensive housing plan for Rhode Island since 2006 outlines how many units the state wants to add in each municipality, and requires that each municipality meet two annual production goals that include the total number of units, and the production of affordable homes. The units include affordable rental homes, middle-market housing, and homeownership opportunities. For instance, the state's report says by 2030, Warren needs to add 110 units of housing, Narragansett needs to add 197, and Barrington 128 units. Larger cities have loftier goals: Providence will need to add 3,010 more units, Pawtucket 1,353 more units, and Cranston 1,367 units. The plan 'is very bold,' said Senator Jacob Bissaillon, who chairs the Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee. Yet the plan does not lay out a strategy to hold municipalities accountable. For the last 30 years, the Low and Moderate Income Housing Act has called for a minimum of 10 percent of the Advertisement Municipalities will be expected to explain shortfalls, and the state will 'explore incentives' to reward progress. These incentives could include preferences for state infrastructure funding programs and other state grants. If the state was to hit the McKee administration's targets, it would ease pressure on the market, but these new goals won't solve the housing crisis altogether. Instead, the report laid out potential areas of reform, which include Local zoning rules currently present barriers to middle-market housing production: 87 percent of Rhode Island is zoned only for single-family homes by right, The plan breaks down McKee's goals to reach 15,000 units, which include: permitting 1,000 new homeownership units priced below $400,000 each, permitting 525 ADUs (which would triple recent production), and doubling the state's permitting of other types of middle-market homes by 2030. The plan also factored in financing production of 2,250 affordable rental homes — the most significant demand in Rhode Island, along with other parts of New England. The plan says the state would finance 375 permanent supportive housing units and 500 units affordable to people with extremely low incomes. Advertisement 'I hear 'my kids, my grandkids, cannot afford to live in Rhode Island,'' said Goddard, who became secretary in 2024 when this housing plan was already in the works. 'How did we get here? Some of this is not new... We have not built enough. Simple as that.' Alexa Gagosz can be reached at
