WORCESTER – The Worcester Housing Authority board of directors has lifted its policy of requiring tenants to pay two upfront payments, the public housing agency announced.
According to a press release from the Worcester Housing Authority, the change took effect on Saturday.
According to state law, landlords are entitled to require a security deposit of one month’s rent, the first month’s rent and the last month’s rent upon signing the lease. The WHA will no longer require the last month’s rent and the security deposit, but will only require tenants to pay the first month’s rent.
The WHA press release states:
The Supervisory Board acted on the recommendation of CEO Alex Corrales.
Corrales pointed out the impact of the two advance payments on the tenants as well as the associated administrative costs and burdens for the agency.
Related costs included about $88,000 per year for processing and managing deposit accounts, which the agency said was higher than the roughly $82,000 it collected annually in deposits.
Monitoring the monthly interest on each security and the last month’s rental deposit was often time-consuming, and a mistake could result in the agency being held liable for triple the damage. It also had a negative impact on rental collection and vacancy processing time due to delays in moving in.
“It just makes sense,” said Joseph P. Carlson, chairman of the Board of Commissioners. “We recognize the financial challenges so many people face as inflation increases the cost of groceries, gasoline and other essentials. With that in mind, we believe the current rule serves to unduly burden prospective renters and actually discourages them from accepting housing, or even deters them from doing so.”
Corrales also said tenants were struggling to pay three times the cost on top of moving costs before the move-in date. Requests for assistance can delay move-in. “The policy has created additional stress and burdens for tenants and has also strained our resources,” Corrales said. “I am grateful and thankful to the board for lifting this policy and providing some relief to our tenants. This will help us lease available units more quickly, and that is especially important at a time when so many people need housing.”
