Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Somerville city leaders are joining their colleagues in Boston and Cambridge in an effort to reign in broker fees for renters.
Somerville City Councilors are having the city solicitor draft a home rule petition to regulate broker fees, making it so landlords pay the fee instead of tenants.
City Councilor At-Large Willie Burnley Jr. reintroduced the demand for state legislation during a city council meeting at the end of November, saying it will relieve financial pressure off of renters.
"For too long, renters in Somerville have been forced to choose between economic devastation or displacement due to the cost of forced broker fees. By working with our regional partners, I hope to provide relief to the vast majority of residents that wish to stay in our community but cannot afford to essentially pay four months' rent as the price of admission." Somerville City Councilor Willie Burnley Jr. said in a statement to WBZ NewsRadio.
"It's long overdue especially given the fact that the majority of our residents are renters," Somerville City Councilor Will Mbah told WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas.
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Somerville City Councilors who support the legislation want broker fees to be regulated statewide in a similar move to the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act that passed in New York last month.
"When we regulate this it will reduce financial barriers for individuals and families and also improve their housing situation," said Councilor Mbah.
This is not the first time Somerville City Council has been on the record in support of ending forced broker fees. Somerville City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen said he filed a resolution in support of Cambridge Rep. Mike Connolly's Tenant Protection Act in 2019.
WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) has more: