Somerville residents got a chance to meet with members of the Condo Review Board last week and express their views on possible enforcement of the rules for condominium conversion. ~Photos by Donald Norton

By Amy Swain

A special meeting of the Condo Review Board was held last Thursday. Somerville residents as well as interested parties gathered in the conference room of the Visiting Nurses Association. Renters, owners, real estate agents and developers filled the room; any empty space was filled with tension. The subject of the meeting was notification requirements under the Somerville Condominium Conversion ordinance – the argument was, should they enforce it?

Enforcement of this ordinance would mean owners of rental properties would be required to not only provide one year’s notice before taking possession from tenants if they are planning to convert the building into condominiums, but also to notify the CRB.

Concern was expressed that the lack of notification to the board was causing problems such as unfair evictions and lack of communication of tenants’ rights. However, once the meeting began, it became clear that notifying tenants was also a problem. “Three buildings have gone condo on my block in eight months. Not one tenant was notified,” a resident testified.

This has been the law for roughly thirty years without being enforced by the Condo Review Board. The discussion began in 2008 – if this is the law, why don’t tenants know about it, and why isn’t it being enforced?

A recent boom in condo developments have prompted the argument. With more evictions occurring to avoid the notification process, all concerned parties are becoming uneasy. Renters fear eviction without cause or due process, and owners fear the prospective cost of owning an empty property for a year before being able to begin conversion.

All parties agree that we have an affordable housing crisis in the city. While that is troubling for lower income residents and renters in general, it presents an opportunity for developers and property owners to begin collecting higher values. So which is right, and who should be regulated by our government? From an owner’s perspective, if they have to wait a year before taking action on a property they risk losing potential buyers and seeing the value lessen. From a renter’s perspective, owners not waiting that year result in quicker turnovers, meaning less rental properties and more eviction. After all, this protocol was set specifically to protect renters.

The meeting adjourned with a mutual understanding that this ordinance must be revisited by all of the relevant parties. If it remains the law, it must be enforced, but the law may be due to change. The appropriate authorities will discuss this further, and residents can expect more public hearings in the near future.